The use of oil spill dispersants, which can be used to break down an oil slick into smaller droplets as part of response efforts, is the subject of a workshop taking place in Dakar, Senegal (17-20 July).

Oil spill response workshop held in Senegal

IMO says, participants from 11 countries (Benin, the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo) are attending the sub-regional workshop, which will analyse national policies on dispersant use and provide training on further development and implementation of these policies.

The event is also looking at how the Net Environmental Benefit Analysis – a decision-making concept used to help ensure that the response to an incident does not result in greater harm to the environment than may have already occurred.

The Dakar workshop was organized under the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) – a joint IMO-IPIECA project. IMO's Julien Favier of the GI WACAF project, Clement Chazot, Project Manager of the GI WACAF, and a team of consultants are facilitating the event, which is hosted by HASSMAR – the Senegalese authority in charge of maritime safety and security, and the protection of the marine environment.

Source: PortNews