Port Blair, Dec 16 : The Indian Coast Guard alongwith all stake holders conducted Regional Level Pollution Response Exercise off Port Blair on 16 Dec 19. The preparedness of all agencies, during the drill, was witnessed by Shri Chetan Bhushan Sanghi, IAS, Chief Secretary (Andaman & Nicobar) alongwith Inspector General MV Pathak, TM, Commander, Coast Guard Region (A&N). The dignitaries alongwith representatives of other stakeholder agencies witnessed the exercise on-board ICGS Vishwast. The mock drill was undertaken by Indian Coast Guard in conjunction with stake holders which included the A&N Administration, Pollution Control Committee (A&N), PMB, PBMC, DSS, IOC, DMA, tourism, MMD and fisheries department.
The mock drill was a full scale exercise for evaluating the capabilities and response mechanism of all stake holders and augmenting regional level emergency preparedness with regard to risk factors associated with marine oil spill.
Two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), two Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs), four Interceptor Boats (IB), one Dornier Fixed Wing Aircraft and one Helicopter of Indian Coast Guard along with PMB tug participated in various manoeuvres to display pollution response configurations as part of exercise.
The exercise commenced with a demonstration of inner harbour containment by the deployment of river boom by Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boats under the supervision of Pollution Response Team (A&N). The operation of Seavac heli-skimmer was also demonstrated as part of the exercise. The outer harbour sea oil spill containment/recovery was tested and demonstrated by Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft by using ocean booms, skimmers and oil spill dispersants. The extraction of oil using skimmers and storage by Dracon barges were also demonstrated during the exercise.
Another vital component which was exercised was the beach cleaning effort in coordination with the civil administration. As part of the event, a mock drill for shore clean-up was conducted at Corbyn’s cove beach by U/T PCC with support from Coast Guard Air Enclave, Port Blair and various stake holders including PBMC, Forest & Health services departments .
The participation and cooperation provided by all stake holders towards the conduct of the drill, is indicative of Indian Coast Guard’s resolve to combat pollution at sea for protecting the flora and fauna of A & N islands.
Indian Coast Guard is responsible for marine environment protection in the maritime zones of India and is the Central Coordinating Authority for response to oil spills in Indian waters. The mock drill successfully validated and reinforced response mechanism for Oil Pollution incidents and enabled Indian Coast Guard to fine tune the actions required in such eventualities by improving coordination and communication with different agencies. Representatives from electronic and print media also witnessed the exercise. A communiqué received from PRO Coast Guard. “VayamRakshamah – We Protect”.
