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Speech
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Oil Spill Contingency in a Future
Perspective
Interspill, June 14th 2004 - Svein Ludvigsen, Norwegian Minister of
Fisheries
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Summary or additional information (if
available)
Sea transport is important to Norway. It is also
an environmentally friendly means of transport. The
government’s goal is to promote more freight transport over
to sea transport, this meaning environmentally sound sea
transport.
Not even the best system, unlimited funds and
resources can guarantee us 100 % against accidents. But the
government is doing its best to prevent accidents at sea. This is
done by measures to improve safety at sea, and by ensuring the best
possible oil spill contingency. With a coastline 83.000 km long,
this is a challenge.
In order to meet this challenge, the government
has decided to concentrate and better coordinate the efforts in
this field. Safety at sea and oil spill contingency is closely
interrelated. I fully agree with Interspill’s president when
he says that when it comes to the marine environment, an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
For this reason, oil spill prevention and response
was added to my portfolio last year, in addition to the existing
responsibility for safety at sea and the fisheries. This gives the
Ministry of Fisheries the full picture; from the riches of the sea
that we heavily depend on, to the potential devastating
consequences of an oil spill.
The Ministry of Fisheries is now working on
developing the future policy for safety at sea and oil spill
prevention and response.
A future perspective on oil
spill contingency
The government has initiated an overall management
plan for the Barents Sea. This will be an important framework for
preserving the environment, and at the same time allowing for
exploitation of the Seas’ resources in a sustainable way.
This plan will be followed by similar plans for the other Norwegian
Seas.
The government will also present a white paper on
safety at sea and oil spill contingency next winter. Here, we will
carry out an evaluation of the preventive measures implemented to
promote safety at sea. We will also evaluate the oil spill
preparedness based on an updated analysis of the environmental risk
posed by the ship traffic. The risk analysis will provide a
realistic picture of the potential environmental threats. This will
serve as a basis for ensuring that we are implementing the right
measures at the right pace.
We have to learn from accidents at sea. The white
paper will also include an overview of incidents and accidents
along the coast, among them the “Rocknes” accident.
After “Rocknes”, the Coastal Administration is
considering measures to improve the safety for vessels in this
area. The Coastal Administration is also evaluating the oil spill
prevention operation.
In Norway we have a long tradition for cooperation
between private companies and the government when it comes to
taking responsibility for the environment. By law, private
companies are expected to establish measures to handle acute
pollution from their own activities.
I think time has come to intensify the
constructive dialogue we have with the shipping industry on what
they can contribute with in order to improve safety at sea and oil
spill preparedness further. The white paper will also be addressing
the need for stronger international cooperation in this
field.
Another important issue is the need for further
innovation, research and development of new technology within oil
spill response. This is especially a need for the extreme
conditions in our Northern waters.
Many other issues will be addressed. However, it
is too early to go into more details on Norway’s future
policy on safety at sea and oil spill prevention and response at
this stage. Today, oil spill prevention and response is our
focus.
Oil
transports
The starting gas and petroleum activities, and the
increasing oil transports in our northern waters are important to
modern society. But we need to be aware of the potential hazards
related to these activities. We are closely following this
development. It has already demanded new government resources in
the Northern waters. Among other things, the government has
established a state run tugboat service in Northern Norway. We will
also be establishing a new Vessel Traffic Central in
Vardø.
It is important to underline that oil transports
are not new along the coast. We have a thirty- year long history of
extensive oil transports in southern Norway. Already in 2000, we
registered 11.000 tank vessel movements in Skagerrak. In the
crossing between the main seaways between North and South, there
are around 50.000 ship movements each year. Many of these ships
have a gross weight exceeding 400.000 tonnes. We have not had
significant accidents with this traffic. So far, most of the oil
spills along the coast has been bunker oil from smaller vessels.
One of the reasons why the oil transport has gone so well is the
high demands to safety at sea. We have competent pilots; competent
people at the vessel traffic control centres, and the crews of the
ships are also highly competent. These preventive efforts are
without doubt producing results. But the oil spill preparedness and
available equipment is also an important part of the security
concept and must keep a high standard.
Available
equipment
The Norwegian state preparedness against acute
pollution is dimensioned and located based on knowledge from risk
analyses and ongoing activities. This is done to ensure that the
right equipment is available along the whole coast, and near the
most challenging areas. This methodology will be further enhanced
in the forthcoming white paper. The Coastal Administration is in
the forefront internationally in this field. They are using
different types of advanced analytical tools to ensure that the
right decisions are taken if an accident was to occur. This in
example includes analyses of oil types. The oils have different
characteristics. Knowing the oil type is crucial in choosing the
right strategic approach for combating the oil
spill.
Norwegian oil spill preparedness cannot be judged
by the government’s resources alone. We have a strong
tradition for cooperation both within state bodies and between
state bodies and private actors. Norwegian oil spill preparedness
is built on interaction that includes all the resources the nation
has available if an accident was to occur. This means private,
municipal, as well as governmental resources. Through international
agreements, Norway can also receive help from other countries in
case of an accident. Norway was glad to have a dialogue with
Spanish and French authorities and to contribute with a vessel, an
aircraft, advice, equipment and human resources during the
“Prestige” accident.
How we use and coordinate the available resources
is important. The Ministry of Fisheries have initiated better
coordination among the different actors, among them The Coastal
Administration, the Ministry of Defence, the defence, the coast
guard and other government agencies. We have also strengthened the
cooperation with the oil industry, the larger fishing vessels and
the rescue service.
Preventive
measures
Oil spill prevention is important when an accident
has happened, but the most important is to make sure that accidents
do not occur. The Government has therefore proposed and implemented
a number of measures to strengthen safety at sea in Norwegian
waters.
The Coastal Administration has mapped places of
refuge and areas for beaching for use in situations with danger of
acute pollution.
To ensure a greater window of action, the
territorial waters were expanded from 4 to 12 nautical miles six
months ago. This expansion allows for control and regulation of the
ship traffic in a larger geographical area than up to now. The
Coastal Administration has implemented mandatory traffic lanes in
the territorial waters between Vardø and Nordkapp. These
traffic lanes forces ships carrying dangerous goods to keep a
minimum distance off the coast. The Coastal Administration is
considering implementing mandatory traffic lanes for other
areas.
The Coastal Administration is also considering
establishing “routeing” outside the territorial waters
of northern Norway. This measure must be approved by IMO in order
to come into effect.
Norway has established four vessel traffic centres
in Southern Norway. To surveillance the coast of Northern Norway, a
vessel traffic centre will come into operation Vardø from
2007. Until this is operational, the transports in these waters
will be overlooked by the other VTS’s. Norway is also
establishing a network for AIS, Automatic Identification System,
this year. This system will provide a better control over the ship
traffic.
Cooperation with Russia and the
U.S. - Russia workshop ion oil spill prevention and
response
The Ministry of Fisheries have started a promising
cooperation with our Russian neighbours. Our partner is the
Ministry of Transport. The cooperation includes safety at sea as
well as oil spill prevention and response. We are discussing to
share information and exchange AIS-data on oil transports.
Cooperation within oil spill response includes joint exercise,
analyses of oil types, as well as other measures seeking to improve
oil spill prevention and preparedness. We have a very good dialogue
with our counterpart, and share the same goals: Safe sea transport.
I have great expectations to the outcome of this
cooperation.
As a consequence of our engagement in these
issues, Norway will be hosting an important event during
Interspill: The first U.S. Russia workshop on oil spill prevention
and response. This is a part of the U.S. Russian Energy
Dialogue.
On behalf of the Norwegian government, I would
like to give a warm welcome to the Russian, American and the other
international representatives. We are very pleased that you choose
to have the workshop in Norway, where the public concern over this
issue is very high.
I am looking forward to spending the day in your
company and to discuss these issues further.
Conclusion
Safety at sea and oil spill preparedness along the
coast can always be improved. We are constantly working on this.
Internationally, Norway is in the forefront. When it comes to both
oil spill preparedness and vessel traffic control systems,
Norwegian competence and technology is sought after. The Coastal
Administration today has a reporting and information system that
provides a good overview of the sea traffic along the Norwegian
coast. The Coastal Administration is a central player in the
development of a common European reporting system, which will give
us a better control over the sea transports with dangerous or
hazardous goods in the whole EEA-area.
This does not mean that we can lean back and
relax. We are constantly working on a number of measures. We want
to secure safety at sea. We also want a well operating oil spill
preparedness along the coast, for today and for the
future.
The risk for oil spills is a common concern that
demands a common approach.
This has to be achieved in cooperation with other
countries that are sharing the same goals. International arenas
like Interspill gather some of the world’s most competent
people within this field. The Conference is a great opportunity for
exchanging ideas, sharing experiences and for discussing future
developments within this field. Use it well!
1. Innlegg
