HELCOM Response group meeting to evaluate recent spill operations, exercises

20 November 2012 (HELCOM Information Service) - The annual meeting of the Helsinki Commission Response Group (HELCOM RESPONSE) will today gather authorities responsible for pollution response at sea within the nine Baltic coastal states, EU and observers for a three day meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. The group meets one to two times per year and covers the regional HELCOM system of operational reporting, measures and procedures related to pollution response at sea and on the shore, aerial surveillance, and reimbursement of costs of assistance.

Besides a number of currently topical issues, the preparations for the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, to take place during October 2013 in Copenhagen, give a special flavour to the event. Issues emerging from the RESPONSE Meeting will be used to identify specific areas where more work is needed.

The Baltic administrations attending the Meeting will i.e. share lessons learnt of recent events related to pollution preparedness and response in the region, including  the “Kyeema Spirit” event of September 2012 where an empty 259m tanker run aground in Muuga bay, Estonia.

The Meeting will also discuss and evaluate the HELCOM Balex Delta 2012 full scale oil pollution preparedness and response exercise which took place in Helsinki, Finland during August 2012. Further, the Meeting will prepare for the next year’s Balex Delta exercise, which will be organized in Germany.

In addition, the Meeting will consider a number of issues related to pollution response on the shore, oiled wildlife response as well as the HELCOM aerial surveillance operations including recent initiatives to ease flight permits of surveillance aircraft. The Meeting will be chaired by Mr. Bernt Stedt from the Swedish Coast Guard HQ, Sweden.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

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

For more information, please contact:

Hermanni Backer

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)46 850 9199

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645

E-mail: Hermanni.backer@helcom.fi

Skype: helcom02

Johanna Laurila

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)40 523 8988

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: johanna.laurila@helcom.fi

Skype: helcom70