SRI LANKA COAST GUARD REHEARSED MEDIUM LEVEL OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND MANAGEMENT EXERCISE AT NAVAL DOCKYARD TRINCOMALEE.

Sri Lanka Coast Guard acts as a first responder to oil & chemical spill response and management in Sri Lanka as per National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCOP). Therefore, it is essential to maintain ready force to face such emergencies.

To enable the competencies of SLCG's oil response and management, an oil spill practical exercise was conducted at Naval Dockyard Trincomalee on 06 Dec 23. This event was spearheaded by Regional Director Eastern Region and the event was attended by Officers and sailors of Coast Guard and Naval ships and craft which berthed at Naval Dockyard, representatives from Marine Environment Protection Authority, Ceylon Fishery Harbour Cooperation and Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

As of today SLCG oil spill response and management team were composed of 20 oil spill experts who trained from Japanese Coastguard under the JICA co-creation programme.

This pragmatic training allowed them to plan, estimate and to decide the best mitigation action such as how to prevent further spreading oil by laying up booms, oil spill monitoring using drones, collection of spilled oil by using skimmers. Hence, exercise of these kinds helps Sri Lanka Coast Guard and Sri Lanka Navy personnel to enhance their horizons.