8th Meeting of the IMO OPRC-HNS Technical Group – Sep 29, 2008
REMPEC participated to the 8th Meeting of the International Maritime Organization (OMI) OPRC-HNS Technical Group (TG8) which was held in the IMO Headquarters, London, between 29 September and 3 October 2008.
In the framework of the programme activities of the Mediterranean Technical Working Group (MTWG), the Centre presented to TG8 the draft Comparative Study of the existing Guidelines on Oiled Shoreline Assessment. The Group recognized the importance of developing regional tools and endorsed the work of the MTWG in developing this guidance for the Mediterranean region, assessed and provided some input to REMPEC for the finalization of the work. Based on the outcome of the comparative study, the second phase of the project will be initiated with a view to developing draft standard guidelines on oiled shoreline assessment.
REMPEC also presented the progress made on the MTWG project on waste management which objective is to develop a standardized matrix approach which could facilitate the selection of the most suitable techniques for the country and also to highlight, as appropriate, regulatory amendments that have to be introduced in order not to be constrained when faced with an emergency. In this regard, the Mediterranean coastal States have been contacted by REMPEC to provide data on their national system with a view to considering this information in the development of the regional decision support tool on waste management.
Finally, the Italian delegation provided an update on the development of guidelines on sunken oil assessment and removal techniques. A number of delegations expressed their support and offered to contribute to the work for bringing the matter forward to the Interspill 2009.
In the framework of a regional activity which will be organized back to back to Interspill 2009, REMPEC, in collaboration with IMO, will sponsor two delegates from each Mediterranean coastal State to attend the IMO R&D Forum and the Interspill 2009 exhibition.