Interspill, June 14th 2004 - Svein Ludvigsen, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries 

Oil Spill Contingency in a Future Perspective

Presentation powerpoint (1 MB)

Sea transport is important to Norway. It is also an environmentally friendly means of transport. The government’s goal is to promote more freight transport over to sea transport, this meaning environmentally sound sea transport.

Not even the best system, unlimited funds and resources can guarantee us 100 % against accidents. But the government is doing its best to prevent accidents at sea. This is done by measures to improve safety at sea, and by ensuring the best possible oil spill contingency. With a coastline 83.000 km long, this is a challenge.

In order to meet this challenge, the government has decided to concentrate and better coordinate the efforts in this field. Safety at sea and oil spill contingency is closely interrelated. I fully agree with Interspill’s president when he says that when it comes to the marine environment, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

For this reason, oil spill prevention and response was added to my portfolio last year, in addition to the existing responsibility for safety at sea and the fisheries. This gives the Ministry of Fisheries the full picture; from the riches of the sea that we heavily depend on, to the potential devastating consequences of an oil spill.

The Ministry of Fisheries is now working on developing the future policy for safety at sea and oil spill prevention and response. 

A future perspective on oil spill contingency

The government has initiated an overall management plan for the Barents Sea. This will be an important framework for preserving the environment, and at the same time allowing for exploitation of the Seas’ resources in a sustainable way. This plan will be followed by similar plans for the other Norwegian Seas. 

The government will also present a white paper on safety at sea and oil spill contingency next winter. Here, we will carry out an evaluation of the preventive measures implemented to promote safety at sea. We will also evaluate the oil spill preparedness based on an updated analysis of the environmental risk posed by the ship traffic. The risk analysis will provide a realistic picture of the potential environmental threats. This will serve as a basis for ensuring that we are implementing the right measures at the right pace.

We have to learn from accidents at sea. The white paper will also include an overview of incidents and accidents along the coast, among them the “Rocknes” accident. After “Rocknes”, the Coastal Administration is considering measures to improve the safety for vessels in this area. The Coastal Administration is also evaluating the oil spill prevention operation.

In Norway we have a long tradition for cooperation between private companies and the government when it comes to taking responsibility for the environment. By law, private companies are expected to establish measures to handle acute pollution from their own activities. 

I think time has come to intensify the constructive dialogue we have with the shipping industry on what they can contribute with in order to improve safety at sea and oil spill preparedness further. The white paper will also be addressing the need for stronger international cooperation in this field.

Another important issue is the need for further innovation, research and development of new technology within oil spill response. This is especially a need for the extreme conditions in our Northern waters.

Many other issues will be addressed. However, it is too early to go into more details on Norway’s future policy on safety at sea and oil spill prevention and response at this stage. Today, oil spill prevention and response is our focus.

Oil transports

The starting gas and petroleum activities, and the increasing oil transports in our northern waters are important to modern society. But we need to be aware of the potential hazards related to these activities. We are closely following this development. It has already demanded new government resources in the Northern waters. Among other things, the government has established a state run tugboat service in Northern Norway. We will also be establishing a new Vessel Traffic Central in Vardø.

It is important to underline that oil transports are not new along the coast. We have a thirty-year long history of extensive oil transports in southern Norway. Already in 2000, we registered 11.000 tank vessel movements in Skagerrak. In the crossing between the main seaways between North and South, there are around 50.000 ship movements each year. Many of these ships have a gross weight exceeding 400.000 tonnes. We have not had significant accidents with this traffic. So far, most of the oil spills along the coast has been bunker oil from smaller vessels. One of the reasons why the oil transport has gone so well is the high demands to safety at sea. We have competent pilots; competent people at the vessel traffic control centres, and the crews of the ships are also highly competent. These preventive efforts are without doubt producing results. But the oil spill preparedness and available equipment is also an important part of the security concept and must keep a high standard.

Available equipment

The Norwegian state preparedness against acute pollution is dimensioned and located based on knowledge from risk analyses and ongoing activities. This is done to ensure that the right equipment is available along the whole coast, and near the most challenging areas. This methodology will be further enhanced in the forthcoming white paper. The Coastal Administration is in the forefront internationally in this field. They are using different types of advanced analytical tools to ensure that the right decisions are taken if an accident was to occur. This in example includes analyses of oil types. The oils have different characteristics. Knowing the oil type is crucial in choosing the right strategic approach for combating the oil spill.

Norwegian oil spill preparedness cannot be judged by the government’s resources alone. We have a strong tradition for cooperation both within state bodies and between state bodies and private actors. Norwegian oil spill preparedness is built on interaction that includes all the resources the nation has available if an accident was to occur. This means private, municipal, as well as governmental resources.  Through international agreements, Norway can also receive help from other countries in case of an accident. Norway was glad to have a dialogue with Spanish and French authorities and to contribute with a vessel, an aircraft, advice, equipment and human resources during the “Prestige” accident. 

How we use and coordinate the available resources is important. The Ministry of Fisheries have initiated better coordination among the different actors, among them The Coastal Administration, the Ministry of Defence, the defence, the coast guard and other government agencies. We have also strengthened the cooperation with the oil industry, the larger fishing vessels and the rescue service.  

Preventive measures

Oil spill prevention is important when an accident has happened, but the most important is to make sure that accidents do not occur. The Government has therefore proposed and implemented a number of measures to strengthen safety at sea in Norwegian waters.

The Coastal Administration has mapped places of refuge and areas for beaching for use in situations with danger of acute pollution.

To ensure a greater window of action, the territorial waters were expanded from 4 to 12 nautical miles six months ago. This expansion allows for control and regulation of the ship traffic in a larger geographical area than up to now. The Coastal Administration has implemented mandatory traffic lanes in the territorial waters between Vardø and Nordkapp. These traffic lanes forces ships carrying dangerous goods to keep a minimum distance off the coast. The Coastal Administration is considering implementing mandatory traffic lanes for other areas.

The Coastal Administration is also considering establishing “routeing” outside the territorial waters of northern Norway. This measure must be approved by IMO in order to come into effect. 

Norway has established four vessel traffic centres in Southern Norway. To surveillance the coast of Northern Norway, a vessel traffic centre will come into operation Vardø from 2007. Until this is operational, the transports in these waters will be overlooked by the other VTS’s. Norway is also establishing a network for AIS, Automatic Identification System, this year. This system will provide a better control over the ship traffic.   

Cooperation with Russia and the U.S. - Russia workshop ion oil spill prevention and response

The Ministry of Fisheries have started a promising cooperation with our Russian neighbours. Our partner is the Ministry of Transport. The cooperation includes safety at sea as well as oil spill prevention and response. We are discussing to share information and exchange AIS-data on oil transports. Cooperation within oil spill response includes joint exercise, analyses of oil types, as well as other measures seeking to improve oil spill prevention and preparedness. We have a very good dialogue with our counterpart, and share the same goals: Safe sea transport. I have great expectations to the outcome of this cooperation.

As a consequence of our engagement in these issues, Norway will be hosting an important event during Interspill: The first U.S. Russia workshop on oil spill prevention and response. This is a part of the U.S. Russian Energy Dialogue.

On behalf of the Norwegian government, I would like to give a warm welcome to the Russian, American and the other international representatives. We are very pleased that you choose to have the workshop in Norway, where the public concern over this issue is very high.

I am looking forward to spending the day in your company and to discuss these issues further.

Conclusion

Safety at sea and oil spill preparedness along the coast can always be improved. We are constantly working on this. Internationally, Norway is in the forefront. When it comes to both oil spill preparedness and vessel traffic control systems, Norwegian competence and technology is sought after. The Coastal Administration today has a reporting and information system that provides a good overview of the sea traffic along the Norwegian coast. The  Coastal Administration is a central player in the development of a common European reporting system, which will give us a better control over the sea transports with dangerous or hazardous goods in the whole EEA-area.

This does not mean that we can lean back and relax. We are constantly working on a number of measures. We want to secure safety at sea. We also want a well operating oil spill preparedness along the coast, for today and for the future.

The risk for oil spills is a common concern that demands a common approach.

This has to be achieved in cooperation with other countries that are sharing the same goals. International arenas like Interspill gather some of the world’s most competent people within this field. The Conference is a great opportunity for exchanging ideas, sharing experiences and for discussing future developments within this field. Use it well!