JICA FUNDED AND FACILITATED BY THE JAPANESE COAST GUARD (JCG) OIL SPILL MANAGEMENT TRAINING FOR THE SRI LANKA COAST GUARD WAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

The closing ceremony of the oil spill response and management training was held on 17^th February 2023 at Dickovita fishery harbour. The Director General Sri Lanka Coast Guard Rear Admiral P Vithana, Chief Representative of JICA Mr Yamada Tetsuya and other representatives, Principal Officer of Mobile Cooperation Team Commander Hideaki Matsuo and five other JCG officers, Commanding Officer Sri Lanka Coast Guard Waruna Captain KLKH Marambage, Director Training Commander BLC Gunawantha, and Officer in Command of Coast Guard Station Dickovita Lieutenant Commander RPSS Jayasinghe attended the ceremony.

The objective of the training programme is to provide institutional support for the SLCG to establish an in-house comprehensive oil spill incident management system. Since the SLCG is responsible for performing first responder duties for "Oil Spill and Response Management" incidents at sea as well as the country's coastal belt, it is essential to effectively train SLCG personnel to respond to oil spills by deploying cutting-edge equipment and resources. The 14-day course covered the nature of various forms of oil, the harmful effects on the marine ecosystem, and mitigation methods, including advanced oil spill management techniques.