International Maritime Training Centre (IMTC), inaugurated their course “Marine Environment Protection” and also held a seminar on ‘Oil and Seawater” on November 3 at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. Capt. Y. Sharma – Head of Training Centre welcomed the guests and the participants. Mr. G.S. Sahni – Director General of Shipping, Govt. of India presided as the Chief Guest. His Excellency Mr. Jon Westborg, Norwegian Ambassador to India, was guest of honor; Mr. Ingar Skaug, (CEO, Wilh Wilhelmsem ASA Oslo), Mr. Dag Schjerven (CEO, Wilhelmsem Maritime Services) and Mr. Svein Soerlie (President, Barber International Ltd.) represented IMTC’s parent organizations.
The ceremonial lamp was lit by the dignitaries after which, Mr. Svein Soerlie addressed the audience. In his address he mentioned, “We send a clear message to our shore and sailing staff that when we say no pollution we mean no pollution”. He also said that they view human ignorance as the biggest enemy of the marine environment and by launching this course they have done something practical about it.
Later, Mr. Jon Westborg took the opportunity to pass on a few messages. In his message he said that the Norwegian Government is looking for strengthening co-operation with India in political and commercial areas. He also thanked the Indian government and the Director General of Shipping for their support.
Mr. G.S. Sahni asserted that the government of India has been aware of the need to protect the marine environment and was one of the first countries to rectify annexure 1&2 of Marpol, covering pollution of sea by oil. He also mentioned that the Indian coast guard keeps constant alert of any oil spill in Indian water by any ship. He further expressed his willingness to encourage such seminars which educate the seafarers on environment protection.
The theme of the seminar was ‘Consequences of oil pollution” and the speaker presented different perspectives in this context. In the first session, the ball was set rolling by the Mr. Ajoy Chaterjee – Chief Surveyor, Govt. of India whose presentation on “the Regulatory Aspect of Pollution Prevention” explained the responsibilities that have to be fulfilled by the various stakeholders, especially the administrative bodies.
Ms. Kim Jefferies – GARD P&I, Arendal touched upon the commercial impact of an oil pollution incident. The extent of fires and other preventive measures, the liabilities and coverage for ship owners and seafarers was brought into clear focus.
Prof. S.P. Fondekar, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa made a graphic presentation of the effects of oil pollution in the seawater and backed it up by some astonishing data called from years of research on the subject.
Finally, Ms. Karoline Boehler – Attorney-at-law, Legal Adviser, Norwegian Shipowner’s Association, spoke on the legal issues associated with an oil pollution incident. She put the spotlight on the US legal system and also the developments of legislation in the EU with regards to pollution offences.
In the post lunch sessions; the focus was shifted to operational issues. Capt. A.D. Anato – safety & Quality Manager, Barber Marine Consultants narrated various pollution cases and analyzed in broad detail the causes as well as the consequences of the events on the ships, their owners and the crew.
Mr. Krik Davis, O’Brien’s Oil Pollution Services, NJ USA followed up with a picture of what is involved by way of cleanup operations from the shore side, should a pollution incident occur. He explained how the magnitude of the operations multiplied several fold in case of unfavourable circumstances.
Coming to solution, Mr. Benny Carlson, Marinfloc AS , Sweden , gave a technical presentation on how to carry out efficient separation of oil from the Bilge water by new technologies, which could also remove other pollutants from a mix of bilge water.
Ultimately, compliance being a function of the individual's attitude, it was left to Mr. Gunnar Lamvik, SINTEF, Norway to unravel the human aspect. He reassured that the human nature is responsible for non-compliances under certain circumstances and proposed a logical approach to this problem.
The seminar ended with an interactive session when some of the delegates shared their views in public and hoped for a better "Environment" in the future. For its part, IMTC faculty Mr. Gurmeet Singh Ranghar presented the components of the Marine Environment Protection Course developed by IMTC'S staff, and expressed hope that attending such a course would not only help in educating sea going staff about how to comply with pollution regulations, but also bring about an attitudinal changes which would ultimately be of mutual benefit for all.
The Seminar concluded successfully with thanks all around to the guests, speakers participants and the organizers.
- By Marine World