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Training

National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and other Noxious and Hazardous Substances
Annual Report 1998/99

Objectives

The objectives of the integrated National Plan oil spill response training program are:

· to provide senior management personnel likely to be involved in a major oil spill with an awareness of those issues which need to be addressed in the overall response;

· to provide sufficient trained personnel at middle management level to both manage an oil spill response and act as deputies to response managers and manage the administrative and financial aspects of a major pollution response;

· to provide a sufficient pool of trained personnel at operator level to allow effective response operations to be planned and undertaken; and

· to provide personnel with oil spill response skills at senior and middle management and operator levels to enable Australia to meet its obligations as a signatory to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation 1990.

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The National Plan training program during 1998–99 included On Scene Coordinator courses held in Launceston (October), and Brisbane (May); a Spill Commanders course in Geelong (September); the Environmental and Scientific Coordinators Workshop in Cairns (August) and Administrative Support Courses in Canberra (November) and Karratha (March).

As part of the adoption of the Oil Spill Response Incident Control System (OSRICS), a "Train the Trainer" course was conducted during the last week of June in Canberra.

The Administrative Support course in Canberra was part of a two-day in-house training forum for AMSA administrative support personnel. A visit to Port Kembla was also conducted as part of this forum.

Course	Location	Date	Number of Participants
ESC Workshop	Cairns	Aug 98	30
Spill Commander	Geelong	Sept 98	16
On Scene Coordinator	Launceston	Oct 98	23
Administrative Support	Canberra	Nov 98	8
Administrative Support	Karratha	March 99	25
On Scene Coordinator	Brisbane	May 99	17

The Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) conducted 17 specific workshops for 270 government and industry personnel at both the Centre in Geelong and on site.

Course	Date	Number of Participants
Management Overview	Nov 98	12
Oil Spill Response	Sept 98 Nov 98 March 99 June 99	16 18 15 21
Operators	Oct 98	15
Client specific programs		173

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Exercises

A significant factor in National Plan response training is exercising response arrangements. Several exercises were held during the reporting period. The Northern Territory Marine Pollution Committee facilitated a desktop exercise called "Northern Approaches" during August 1998 to activate the Northern Territory Marine Oil Pollution Contingency Plan. Exercise "Martin Cash" was conducted in October 1998 in Hobart.

Details of specific exercises conducted by States/NT and industry are covered in the sections later in this report on a State-by-State basis.

Spillcon 98

In August, the seventh biennial oil spill conference, Spillcon 98, was held in Cairns. The conference’s theme was "Oil Spills - Causes and Cures" and was organised by AMSA and the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP). Delegates included the Commonwealth Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, the Honourable Peter Reith MP and the Queensland Minister for Transport, the Honourable Steve Bredhauer as well as high-ranking international guests such as Admiral North from the United States Coast Guard. During the conference the AMSA and AIP Boards held a productive joint meeting and a Service Agreement between AMSA and AMOSC was signed.

As part of Spillcon 98, a demonstration (On Water Display) of oil spill response equipment was held on the second day of the conference. The demonstration involved over 50 people representing Queensland Transport, AMSA, Cairns Port Authority, the Royal Australian Navy, the oil industry and members of the National Response Team. It was one of the largest demonstrations of its type at an Australian oil spill conference and received acclaim from local and international delegates alike.

After the three-day conference, three workshops were held to cover technical issues not included in the general presentations. The purpose of the workshops was to closely examine issues seen as critical to enhancing Australia’s oil pollution response capability - Incident Control Systems, Use of Dispersants and Oiled Wildlife. National and international experts presented and took part in the workshops.

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last updated:
18 June 2001

Training

Objectives

1998/99 -Training

Course

Location

Date

Number of Participants

Course

Date

Number of Participants

Exercises

Spillcon 98