During July 21 - 24, the IMO “National Workshop on Oil Spill Contingency Planning with RETOS Assessment” took place in St Johns, Antigua and Barbuda. Miguel Moyano from Arpel and Michael Hernandez from OSRL were invited to act as instructors and facilitators of the Workshop.

The objective was to provide training in oil spill preparedness and contingency planning for Antigua and Barbuda. The workshop was designed for senior managers and contingency planners from national authorities responsible for oil spill preparedness, response and cooperation. The intent was to have participants acquire and improve their knowledge related to oil spill preparedness and response, identify opportunities to improve the response regime, and identify steps to enhance the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan for the country. The specific objectives of the seminar were to:

• Improve understanding of the oil spill contingency planning process; develop familiarization with and provide tools for implementing national oil spill preparedness and response drills and exercise programs;
• Review the existing national oil spill contingency plan using Arpel’s RETOS^TM tool; and
• Assess the national oil spill preparedness and response program, the national response system and the existing national contingency plan using guided discussion.

The Workshop was led by the National Office of Disaster Services and the Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping of Antigua & Barbuda.

Bringing together 21 participants from 16 key agencies—including the Coast Guard, Ministry of Health, and Department of Environment—the workshop focused on reviewing and enhancing the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) utilizing the RETOS™ assessment tool.

Participants also engaged in practical tabletop exercises and emphasized inter-agency coordination and communication.

The governmental organizations present agreed that the event marked a significant step forward in strengthening the country’s preparedness and response capabilities. For Arpel, this is another milestone in fulfilling its mission of promoting the operational excellence and sustainable development of the oil industry in Latin America and the Caribbean, through collaboration with its main stakeholders.

HERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD:

The International Guide and the RETOS Oil Spill Response Planning and Readiness Assessment Manual V 3.0 (English, Spanish, Portuguese): https://www.arpel.org/en/publications/assessment-of-oil-spill-response-planning-and-preparedness-international-guide-and-retos-v30

The link to the web App of RETOS is https://retos.app