CDC Hands Over Oil Spill Equipment to the GDF Coast Guard
At a simple handing over ceremony, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) presented a donation of oil spill equipment to the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard at its Ruimveldt Headquarters.
Guyana, now an oil-producing nation, will see the transformation of its landscape and vast increase in the country’s economic wealth in time to come. While this sector would benefit Guyana significantly, there are numerous risks associated with this industry, which could have severe impact on marine life and life on land particularly along the shorelines of some of our regions.
Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, Director General of the CDC in his remarks highlighted, “exploration, production, transportation, utilization and storage of petroleum products in on land territory and inland waters within the EEZ increase the probability of spills occurring. Marine traffic, especially oil tankers and petroleum cargo vessels that transit along the river and coastal waters present risks of major spills from either collision, fire, explosion, or grounding. Pollution can also occur from vessels pumping their belch or illegally discharging oil. Pipelines, refineries and oil handling facilities also pose a great threat to both marine and inland environments”.
The Government of Guyana through numerous of its state own entities and the private sector has been very proactive in developing Guyana’s national oil spill capacity and mechanisms to ensure that in the event of an oil spill Guyana is equipped to protect lives and our ecological systems. Recently, the CDC handed over a final draft of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) to the Government through the Office of the Prime Minister. Today’s ceremony is another step in building the country’s response capabilities and capacities to ensure that the right network is formed, the right resources are strategically positioned for quick and effective response in the event of an oil spill.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Craig, “the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard has an invaluable role to play in the response to oil spill within Guyana’s territory. Being a member of the National Oil Spill Committee, the Coast Guards have the lead responsibility in oil spill response as guided by the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. In summary, its roles entail on-scene command and control management, operational response, deployment and management of resources for containment, removal and disposal of waste, establishment of staging areas, provision of marine security and conduct of search and rescue operations”.
The mammoth task the Coast Guard has should an oil spill occur, brings into focus the need for the entity to work closely with local and foreign companies in the Oil and Gas sector, the private sector, government agencies and other international counterparts to strengthen its capacity and foster an environment of collaborative response.
Some of the essential requirements handed over today include 24,000 feet of containment booms, biological and chemical dispersants, hot pressure washer and personal protective equipment. The Disaster Management Director urged the member of the Coast Guard “to carry out gap analysis exercises and capability assessments to determine additional requirements to execute its role. Further, an oil spill response vessel (OSRV) would be essential in the support of the agency’s role”.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shahoud, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard pointed out that the donation is very timely. “This puts us in a better position to address any instances (Oil Spill). This is a premier function for us, and the assets received today allows us to be better positioned to deal with any eventuality. We will now focus on building our capacity and undergo additional training to utilise the equipment”.