Contingency Regulations and Oil Spill Preparedness in Norwegian Arctic Areas1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Svalbard includes all landmasses between 74 and 81 degrees North and between 10 and 35 degrees east, as well as the sea inside a territorial boundary stretching out 4 nautical miles from land. Ice and snow permanently cover two thirds of this area. Svalbard is a very sensitive area in case of oil spill or chemical accidents. A lot of activities on Svalbard may lead to oil spill. Spills from tourist cruise vessels, coal carriers and tank farms may be the largest threat. The law and regulations in this area gives the authorities an opportunity to direct the different companies to prepared an oil spill contingency plan. Because of a large expansion of the coal shipment from Svea mines on Svalbard and that the sailing would take place in a very sensitive area, the authorities took decision to ask for an oil spill contingency plan. The shipment takes place from July to November during the “ice free” months. The responsible company worked out different reports such as a weathering study of different bunker oils, environmental risk analysis, emergency preparedness analysis, a report discussing safe shipment within the sensitive area and an oil spill contingency plan. Based on these reports, the responsible parties received further requirements including carrying out a training program, oil spill exercises and efforts to avoid ship grounding. One of the the challenges of oil spill contingency planning in an area like Svalbard is how to keep the organisation trained for every sailing season.