A three-day workshop to review and update Dominica’s Oil Spill Contingency Plan got underway on Tuesday.
The workshop is being hosted by the Maritime Administrative Unit of the Ministry of Public Works and Ports in collaboration with the Officer of Disaster Management (ODM).
It also aims to develop a local oil spill response strategy for most probable oil spill scenarios, to support Agency Corporation and improve links between stakeholders.
“The purpose of this exercise is to review the oil spill risk evaluation assessment of response preparedness, conducted for the development of clear waters, oil pollution clearance system for Dominica, with a view to provide guidance on how to assess whether the preparedness arrangements that are in place are appropriate in light of the potential for an oil spill incident and its consequences,” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works, Kendell Johnson said while addressing the opening ceremony held at the ODM in Jimmit.
According to him, the quest for safer ships and cleaner seas should be the ultimate goal of the International Maritime Community.
“The achievement of this goal and the enforcement of this applicable roles and standards should be a top priority for Caribbean governance,” Johnson stated. “This seems reasonable when considering that the economies of a large proportion of the islands are based on tourism and to a lesser extent subsistence fishing.”
Meantime, Consultant with the International Maritime Organization, Dr. Elliott Taylor said a very well funded program need to be put in place to address the issue of oil spills.
“I hope that you never see a spill and this is one of the things that we all want to hope for, but the reality is this do happen, and what we need to do is to have a very well-funded program in place that will help us address that instance, should it happen,” he said. “The more we work to have that plan together, the more we train on those plans, the more we exercise those plans the better we will be in terms of having a proper response.”
Taylor noted that his introduction to oil spills happened during the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989.
“It was very shocking to see miles and miles of shoreline covered in oil, with animals and organisms dying in that oil, with tourism shut off, with fisheries shutdown,” he explained. “It’s something that’s such a shock to you, that sometimes you feel you’re paralyzed, you don’t know what to do.”
However, Dr. Taylor said having a plan in place, “gets you pass that.”
“If you practiced it, if you exercise that plan, you know what steps you need to take,” he noted.
Please take a little time and read this to know what the Caribbean sea water quality really is. You will have a pretty good idea of the quality of fish and other marine creatures you eat. We have been POISONED!!!!!!
http://www.counterpunch.org/2010/01/22/haiti-and-toxic-waste/
This is just a tip of the ice-burg. It’s been 19+ years since I read this in……….. But yes, politicians made deals to take in toxic waste material without the public’s knowledge. Ya mon…
Some decades ago “Companies” were paying politicians / Governments of “Third World Countries” (Some in our hemisphere) to dump their waste in our waters, since it was very costly to get rid of the waste in their own countries. The shoreline in my village used to be very greasy and oily. As children playing by the bay, we had no idea what was the cause of that mess. This information on illegal dumping in the Caribbean sea by rich oil companies and others are factual. I have the evidence to prove it. Haiti was one of the countries which accepted such deals. Spills and illegal dumping carries huge fines – So people look for ways to get rid of their waste for cheap, irrespective of the harm caused to humans, animals and our planet. The results of these irresponsible practices may have contributed to the spike in the cancer rate in our region. Poison our water and our fish is poisoned. Poison our fish and we die.
Better late than never