At the invitation of the Ministry of Ports and Marine Transport for Somalia, UK and Ireland Spill Association participated in a two-day national workshop on oil spill response and contingency planning from 15 to 16 February 2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia.
The workshop focused on the national contingency plan currently being developed and highlighted the operational and legal requirements for preparedness, the importance of prompt response and the need to practice these plans frequently to maintain capability. Executive Director, Mark Orr , delivered a remote presentation on some of the early lessons to be learned in oil spill prevention planning from the MV Wakashio incident when the vessel struck the southeast coast of Mauritius in July 2020. Some attending the workshop has seen some of the webinars the Association has run since the incident occurred.
The workshop, funded by EUCAP Somalia (European Union Capacity Building Mission) and UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), brought together the various participants that would have some role in preparing and responding to an oil spill off the coast of Somalia.