National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan(NOSDCP)

News:Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemicals & Fertilizers has informed Lok Sabha about the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan(NOSDCP).

Facts:

About National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan(NOS-DCP):

• The National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan(NOS-DCP) was originally promulgated in 1996 and subsequently updated to include additional information.The latest updation was in 2014.
• The Indian Coast Guard is the designated national authority for oil spill response in Indian waters under the National Oil Spill-Disaster Contingency Plan(NOS-DCP).
• However,the NOS-DCP comes under the purview of the National Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Objectives of the plan:

• To establish an effective system for detection and reporting of spills;
• To establish adequate measures for preparedness for oil and chemical pollution;
• To facilitate rapid and effective response to oil pollution;
• To establish adequate measures for crew, responders, and public health and safety, and protection of the marine environment;
• To establish appropriate response technique to prevent, control and combat oil pollution and dispose-off the recovered material in an environmentally sound manner 
• To establish record-keeping procedures to facilitate recovery of costs.
• To maintain the evidence for the purpose of identifying the polluter and taking suitable administrative, civil or criminal action against the polluter.

Additional information:

About Oil Spill:

• Oil spill is the contamination of seawater due to an oil pour as a result of an accident or human error.
• Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and because of its uneven distribution,it is transported by ships across the oceans and by pipelines across the lands. 
• This has resulted in several accidents in the past while transferring the oil to vessels, during transportation, breaking of pipelines, as well as while drilling in the earth’s crust.

About Indian Coast Guard:

• The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization entrusted with superintendence and policing of India’s maritime areas including the Exclusive Economic Zone.
• ICG was formally established in 1978 by the Coast Guard Act,1978 as an independent Armed force of India.It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• The organization is headed by the Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG).