ARPEL participated in the annual meeting of the Regional Operational Cooperation Network of Maritime Authorities of Central America and the Dominican Republic (ROCRAM-CA), which took place on June 13 through 15 in El Salvador, organized by the Central American Commission of Maritime Transport (COCATRAM).

Since 2015, COCATRAM and ARPEL have formed an alliance of mutual cooperation on marine environmental protection issues.

In this opportunity, ARPEL’s Senior Managing Director Miguel Moyano presented the beta version of the Association’s RETOS™ tool web app and gave a preview on the contents and format of the International Hydrocarbon Spill Response Planning Assessment Guide.

The presentation was addressed to high-level representatives and technical officials of Central American and Dominican Maritime Authorities.

Both the RETOS web app and the international guide were jointly developed by ARPEL, IPIECA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with the aim of improving spill-response planning and preparedness, and represent an advance to user experiences in governments and industries.

The official presentation of RETOS tool web app and the International Spill-Response Guide is expected to take place in late 2023.

For the last decade, COCATRAM has been using the RETOS tool to regularly assess progress in contingency plans - both at a national and area level- in the event of hydrocarbon spills in member countries.

The current version of the RETOS Manual and tables can be downloaded free of charge from the following link (available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese): https://arpel.org/library/publication/341/