PREVENTION & REACTION TO MARINE OIL SPILLS - UNDER MARPOL

PREVENTION & REACTION TO MARINE OIL SPILLS - UNDER MARPOL (EDITION 2)

This video is intended for all ships required to have an International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Shipboard Oil Pollution Plan, a (SOPEP). Its primary audiences are the officers tasked with duties under the SOPEP and those who are responsible for exercising this plan.

The importance of all ship's officers understanding the plan on their ships and knowing their own part in its execution is emphasised. Regular exercising of the plan is effectively mandatory and the greater part of the video follows an exercise on board an oil tanker.

The exercise featured in detail is based on a scenario of the ship grounding. The Master is shown planning the exercise with the Chief Officer. At the agreed moment the Master starts the exercise, having first discussed this with his superintendent on-shore.

The exercise includes the ship transferring cargo from one tank to another as part of the spill mitigation procedure. There are scenes showing the ship's personnel liaising with the ship operator's office and requesting advice on stability. Oil spills can have serious consequences for the environment, the ship's operator, the cargo owner and the seafarer. Good training is essential to minimize the risk of a spill.