HELCOM countries to reinforce mutual assistance when dealing with pollution at seashore

Helsinki, 12 October (HELCOM Information Service) - The HELCOM Response Group will hold its regular meeting on 13 –15 October in St. Petersburg to discuss further measures to enhance the capacity of the Baltic Sea coastal countries to respond to major marine pollution incidents in the region, including oil spillages, as well as to improve the detection of offenders of anti-pollution regulations.

The Baltic Sea countries are expected to approve the amendments to HELCOM procedures for international oil spill response operations, included in the Response Manual, to enable mutual assistance when dealing with major pollution at the shore. “Such assistance is already possible in case of major spills of oil or hazardous substances at sea,” says Monika Stankiewicz, HELCOM’s Professional Secretary. “And now through the use of the amended standard Pollution Reporting System, HELCOM countries will be able to request the assistance of equipment, as well as trained personnel from neighbouring countries to also deal with shoreline pollution.”

According to the Agenda of the Meeting, representatives of the coastal countries will plan the next year's BALEX DELTA international oil spill response exercise that will be held in Denmark, as well as aerial surveillance operations, including the largest one called Super CEPCO, during which aircrafts from HELCOM countries jointly monitor certain areas for several consecutive days in search of ships illegally discharging oil into the sea.

The Response Group will also review the progress of the BRISK Project (2009-2012) preparing a comprehensive risk assessment of shipping accidents in the Baltic Sea area with the aim to improve the existing response capacities of the coastal countries. The participation of the HELCOM countries in the project is part-financed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Among other issues on the Agenda of the Response Group Meeting are lessons learnt from the recent response operations, implementation of HELCOM’s Recommendation 31E/5 on strengthening cooperation regarding places of refuge, as well as recent developments within national contingency plans and resources.

Additionally, the Meeting is expected to discuss the working programme for oiled wildlife response as part of the implementation of HELCOM Recommendation 31E/6 on Wildlife Response Planning in the Baltic Sea, and approve the overall working programme of the Response Group for the next three years.

The Meeting will be conducted by Mr. Peter Soeberg Poulsen, Chairman of the HELCOM Response Group.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organisation of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution.

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)40 8402471

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)46 8509196

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi