Oil Spill Preparedness
Standard Operating Procedure
Revolving Fund Standard Operating Procedure for Joint Oil Spill Combat in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore
The littoral States have established procedures for combating oil pollution under the auspices of the Revolving Fund, which are regularly reviewed through exercises to ensure preparedness and enable continuous improvement. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) shall apply to the control and mitigation of oil spill in or threatening the sea within the geographical limit if the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
- To provide early alert to Member States on any major oil spill occurring in or threatening the Straits of Malacca and Singapore;
- To institute prompt measures to control any major oil spill occurring in or affecting the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
- To facilitate the most affected State to take the leading role to coordinate and integrate the actions and efforts of the three Member States and possible third Party in combating the oil spill; and
- To provide easy and ready references on key operational personnel, equipment and particular procedures to enable speedy movements across States.
Capacity Building and Oil Spill Response Exercise
RFC organized regular oil spill training to enhance the expertise of the responder team among the Littoral states. Responder training is an essential precondition for effective oil spill response, which requires personnel who understand, and can perform, a variety of emergency response and incident management functions. The purpose of oil spill training is to ensure that these personnel are identified and given appropriate opportunities to learn and maintain relevant knowledge and skills.
RFC also carried out regular joint oil spill response exercise to test the implementation of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Joint Oil Spill Combat in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore with regard to the notification, crisis communication and incident command. The exercise also to evaluate the incident management aspect during oil spill response which includes decision on strategy, planning, deployment of oil spill response equipment and communication. Any lessons learnt are used to further improve and update the procedure.