Emergency Preparedness and Response

Each port shall have comprehensive emergency response plans, to deal with all foreseeable environmental emergencies.

These plans will be compiled following a careful consideration of the environmental implications of emergencies that could occur, and would include the following:

A requirement for the port captain to consider the environmental implications when taking a decision under the "port of safe haven" Principle, especially when the ship in distress is carrying hazardous cargo.
Conduct a risk assessment on areas that have a high potential for oil and/or chemical contamination to occur and map the areas.
Maintaining adequately trained and equipped emergency response teams to deal with accidental spills into the harbour or on land.
Application of the "polluter pays principle" whereby those responsible for the spill are held liable for the clean-up costs.
Particular care to be taken to remediate the environmental impacts caused by the spill, especially if natural ecosystems are affected.
A requirement to report environmental accidents and emergencies immediately they occur, to the port captain. The report to include the name and contact details of the observer/reporter, a description of the accident or emergency, and details of the source (if discernable).
A Formal Failure Analysis (FFA) would be conducted to conclude each incident investigation in order to inform preventative measures to be taken in future.
Prohibition on mixing chemicals or allowing contact between incompatible chemicals, for instance during loading or unloading.
Requirement for tenants and others in possession of hazardous chemicals to be in compliance with the International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals (ISGOTT) standards, including maintenance of material safety data sheets (MSDSs) incorporating environmental data as well as safety data.
Training of emergency response teams to deal with environmental implications of an emergency in addition to the safety implications.