Indian Coast Guard conducts regional level marine oil pollution response exercise ‘Clean Sea-2017’

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted the regional level marine oil pollution response exercise ‘Clean Sea-2017’ at sea off Port Blair on November 29. The purpose of the exercise was to ascertain preparedness of the ICG, resource agencies and other stakeholders in responding to a major oil spill in line with the provisions of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP). The highlight of the exercise was participation of one ICG Pollution Control Vessel and integration of the Indian Coast Guard Dornier/Chetak aircraft into the Oil Spill Disaster Management System for aerial assessment/ delivery of Oil Spill Dispersant for mitigation of the spilled oil. The Indian Coast Guard has established three pollution response centres at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. It is responsible for marine environment protection in the maritime zones of India and is the coordinating authority for response to oil spills in Indian waters.