A marine pollution incident response exercise will take place on Tuesday 31/03 in Elefsina, in the presence of the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, in order to test the preparedness, speed of response and coordination of all stakeholders.
According to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, the exercise is part of preparations to respond to the increased challenges affecting shipping, supply chains, energy distribution and the maritime domain in general.
The exercise scenario involves a strike against a tanker by a drone, causing a spill of petroleum products and immediately activating marine pollution response mechanisms.
The exercise will involve Coast Guard assets, as well as private means and pollution response equipment, while the coordination procedures with Regions, Municipalities, Port Authorities and Port Funds will be tested in practice. At the same time, local exercises will be carried out in all the Port Authorities of the country, with the aim of strengthening operational readiness at national level.
In an interview with SKAI 100.3 radio station today, Mr. Kikilias said: “In the context of prevention, in an environment of international instability and unpredictable developments, we are obliged to prepare scenarios and train our staff so that we can intervene effectively to protect the marine environment, our coasts and our seas. For this reason, next Tuesday a large-scale exercise will be carried out to respond to a marine pollution incident, with a scenario of an unmanned aerial vehicle striking a tanker causing a spill of oil products. The aim is to test the readiness, speed of response and activation of available assets, both of the Coast Guard and private entities, including vessels and anti-pollution equipment, as well as coordination procedures with the relevant agencies. At the same time, the Regions, Municipalities, Port Organizations and Port Funds will be informed in order to implement corresponding exercises at local level in all Port Authorities of the country.”
