Flamingos and Wild Coastlines

Namibia is a country renowned for its natural grandeur and harsh splendour. It has a beautiful coastline frequented by 1,000s of waterfowl and even scavenging lions! John Østergaard was delighted to return, representing IMO at a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan Workshop. This was held under the umbrella of the IMO/IPIECA Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) and conducted in Walvis Bay.

John has attended previous events in Namibia that have assisted in development of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. This Plan was recently adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers, who agreed to establish a National Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications. They will be responsible for the operational implementation and further development of the Plan. John was very honoured to maintain his support to Namibia in this area and continue to assist them in their national planning processes.
 
The Workshop noted that on 19 September 2007 Namibia had acceded to the OPRC Convention. One day of the National Workshop was dedicated to the official launch of the National Contingency Plan by the Deputy Minister of Works, Transport and Communications and included an at-sea equipment deployment exercise in the Walvis Bay area.

The Workshop included presentations on the IMO and IPIECA programme for West and Central Africa, The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem programme,  prevention against oil pollution, sensitivity mapping, claims and compensations and other issues related to oil spill preparedness, response and co-operation.