Regional Training Workshop “Tabletop Exercise on Oil spills Crisis Management”

Dec 27 ,2023 2 Minutes To Full Read

A regional training workshop on ” Tabletop Exercise on Oil spills crisis Management” was organized on 7th April 2021 at 1:00pm (Riyadh Time) and remotely held by teleconference by the Regional organization for the conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) and EMARSGA center.

The workshop started with an opening speech from by Admiral Amr Ezzat, Director of the Center for Mutual Aid for emergencies cases highlighting the importance regional cooperation to ensure effective communication and coordination in preparedness of and prompt response to oil spills incidents and crisis.

The regional workshop aimed at enhancing awareness of the delegates from PERSGA member states on the EMARSGA alert procedures and notification with respect to incidents of oil spills. An additional objective was to expose the participants to the importance of having a solid oil spill decision making both at the regional and national level, recalling that failing to plan is planning to fail.

The specifics objectives of the training tabletop exercises were to

Explore the communication Strategies and clarify linkage among authorities.
Verify/Validate existing notification and communication procedures between EMARSGA/PERSGA and member States
To validate integrated response team concept and Ascertain any gaps or improvements that need to be made and to share “Learned Lessons”

The two sessions of this regional training workshop were delivered by an expert from the Arab Academy for Sciences Technologies and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) of Alexandria-Egypt and moderated by an expert from PERSGA.

Whilst the first session focused on the introduction of EMARSGA Marine Oil Spill Notification Reporting System (OILREP-Pollution notification Report, SITREPs- situation Reports) as well as to explore the guide on the regional decision making, the second session was dedicated to a tabletop exercise presenting to the Participants the results of modelling software relating to Oil spill trajectory and by filling up POLREP Forms using Google Docs.

It was attended by about 47 specialists representing various relevant agencies in PERSGA member states, namely the Republic of Djibouti, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of Yemen.