PERSGA’s Secretary General met by videoconference and several times IMO high-ranked officials regarding coordinating international assistance in the event of spill pollution from the FSO SAFER. The objectives of these series of meetings were to discuss how respective represented UN organizations and agencies will collaborate and cooperate in the event of a significant oil spill from FSO SAFER.
In the wake of the SAFER’s information sharing and contingency planning meeting of concerned Governments and regional and international organizations held in Amman-Jordan, PERSGA’s SG addressed a letter to UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen on 26 February 2020 to raise awareness on the SAFER issue and to urge the international community though to take all possible measures to avoid such potential threats to the marine and coastal resources in the region, and for the implementation of the follow up actions that were identified during that meeting.
Mrs. Inger Andersen replied favourably on that, commending the tireless efforts of PERSGA for its leadership within the region and underscored that UNEP will continue to engage with PERSGA to actively promote the development and implementation of contingency plan and support PERSGA’s efforts in reducing impacts of the oil spill on the environment by providing technical support to the extent possible.
On the same momentum, PERSGA’s SG has also addressed Letters of correspondences to Mr Hiroyoki Yamada and Mr Sami Dimassi−IMO and UNEP’s Directors, respectively, notably on the request to clarify on the pertinent roles and engagement that both Agencies may carry out in the event of an oil spill from FSO Safer, and on which IMO and UNEP responded positively, specifying their respective roles during preparedness, Planning and Response phases to deal with a significant oil spill incident that may occur from the FSO SAFER. UNEP and IMO ensured that within their respective mandate they are fully committed to supporting PERSGA in fulfilling its role in accordance with its mandate in the event of a spill from FSO SAFER. The nature of such support could range from the provision of remote technical advice and assistance to support on a range of critical functions, including coordination support, reporting, outreach, media communications, and liaison with governments that may be outside PERSGA’s regional mandate and purview, as possible examples.
http://persga.org/wp-content/documents/PERSGA_FSO Safer v1.docx
