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19. In the mid eighties, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines formulated the Lombok Macassar Oil Spill plan to mitigate and combat oil spill arising from vessel plying the straits. Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam also formulated the SOP for the Bay of Brunei in 1994. These Plans complement the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.
20. In the continuing efforts to strengthened the regional capability in mitigating and combating oil spill, the original six (6) ASEAN countries established the ASEAN Oil Spill Response Action Plan or in short ASEAN-OSRAP in 1993. The objective of the Plan is to provide mutual assistance to and from Member states in the event of a major spill incident which exceeds the national response capability.
21. At the international level, Malaysia has ratified the various International Conventions related to marine pollution such as:
i. The International Convention on the International Maritime Organization, 1948;
ii. United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982;,
iii. International Oil Pollution Response Cooperation 1990 (OPRC);
iv. International Convention on Marine Pollution From Ship (MARPOL) 73/78;
v. The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC 1992);
vi. The International Convention on the Establishment of an International Compensation Fund for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 (FUND 1992); and
22. The Marine Department is the main agency to implement this convention and Annex 1 of the International Convention on Marine Pollution From Ship (MARPOL) 73/78 that provides the guidelines for managing oil pollution by ships which encompasses:
- The assembly, certification and inspection of merchant ship.
- Procedures for and control of oil disposal at sea.
- Providing oil disposal reception facilities.
- Establishing oil spill management capabilities among merchant ships.
- Coastal structures including providing for contingency planning and equipment; and
- The obligation of all relevant parties with regard to monitoring marine pollution.
23. The Department of Environment as the lead agency and with the support of the Marine Department Malaysia to implement the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990. This Gonvention established preparatory methods for contingency plan, reporting procedures for oil spill, technical cooperation within the region or internationally, and promoting of research and development in the area of oil spill management among the state parties.
24. We have the mechanism in place to deal with oil spills but we also need to enhance regional cooperation as any major oil spill can threaten neighbouring states. In this regard the early implementation of the ASEAN OSRAP Standard Operating Procedures in deemed highly important.
Ladies and Gentlemen
25. We have implemented the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Toxic and Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. This Convention spells out the procedure for the movement of toxic and hazardous from one country to the other and the need for notification and consent. However the issue of Hazardous and Noxious Substances in the seas is still at the early stage of consideration. Some discussions on the management of chemical spills have been initiated. Therefore this HNS Seminar is indeed timely for us to learn from our colleagues from the other countries that have the experience to deal with such issue.
Thank you.
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