SOPEP ,An emergency preparedness plan and its salient advantages

SOPEP

Q:-   A ship which was bunkering at a foreign port has met with an accident and a substantial amount of oil spillage in water has resulted.

   Draw an emergency preparedness plan for the incident and how best it could be encountered under the provision.

  Describe its salient advantages.

Answer:-

This Plan is available to assist the ship’s personnel in dealing with an unexpected discharge of oil.

Effective planning ensures that the necessary actions are taken in a structured, logical and timely manner.

  -The primary objectives of this Plan are to

·    prevent oil pollution

·    stop or minimize oil outflow when a damage to the ship or its requirements occurs

·    stop or minimize oil outflow when a operational spill occurs in excess of the quantity or instantaneous rate permitted under the present Convention

 The purpose of the Plan is to provide the Master, officers and certain crew members with a practical guide to the prevention of oil spills and in carrying out the responsibilities associated with regulation 37 of Annex I to MARPOL 73/ 78

·        procedures to report an oil pollution incident

·        Coastal State contacts (Focal Points) and Port Contact Lists to be contacted in the event of an oil pollution incident.

·        response actions to reduce or control the discharge of oil following an incident.

·        co-ordination with national and local Authorities in combating oil pollution.

The Plan is designed as a ship-specific tool it must also be considered as an additional instrument and as a link to shore-based plans.

With this the Plans allow an efficient co-ordination between the ship and shore-based Authorities/ Organizations in mitigating the effects of an oil pollution incident.

The Plan includes a summary flowchart to guide the Master through reporting and acting procedures required during an oil pollution incident response.

     The Plan is likely to be a document used on board by the Master and officers of the ship and must therefore be available in the working language used by them.

General procedures for operational spill: (bunkering)

     Operational spill are those which are occur during cargo, bunkering or oil transfer operation.This normally in port or in anchorage.

Immediate action:

1) initiate emergency shut down, stop all transfer operations, close all valves and inform the terminal- in- charge, of your actions.

2) Sound the emergency alarm, inform the Master and initiate the emergency response procedures.

3) inform the Port or local state authority.

Follow Up Action :

1) Identify the source of the spill / leak and initiate measures to stop or minimize the outflow.

2) Drain or transfer the oil from the affected area of the pipeline into empty or slop tanks, taking into account stress and stability of the vessel at all times.

3) The possibility of leakage from sea valves should not be discounted. Pressure on these valves should be relieved, if possible, by draining the lines into a suitable tank on board, if available, or ashore.

4) if there is any possibility of release of flammable vapor or its entry into the accommodation, engine room or cargo holds, its ventilation to these areas must be shut off.

5) Clean up operations must be started using the equipment available on board.

6) All spilled oil that is collected must be carefully stored on board till it can safely be disposed off.

7) Chemicals & dispersants (externally) must not be used unless Prior permission has been obtained from the Port authority.

8) Before resuming normal operations, permission may have to be obtained from the Port authority / Terminal Manager.

Salient advantages of Emergency Preparedness Plan.

  1)     The plan identifies all the activities which may cause oil spillage leading to environmental pollutions.

  2)     It defines clearly, the duties & responsibilities of the master and crew .

  3)     An effective implementation is ensured through specialist teams comprising crew members. These teams are trained on-board through realistic drills carried and on a regular basis thus improving their skill & effectiveness.

  4)     Plan assess the state / condition of tools (cleaning gear) and consumables (cleaning material) provided to clean-up spillage.

     Thus a well prepared EPP will go a long way in dealing with an incidence of oil spill effectively.