NCA, responsebillities, legal regulations, marine accidents

Rune Bergstrøm

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Norwegian Coastal Administration –NCA

• Authority under The Ministry

for Transport and

Communications

• Main tasks:

– coastal management and

infrastructure planning

– maritime traffic safety and

monitoring,

– preparedness and response

against acute pollution (sea

and inland)

Geographical area of responsibility

• Territorial Norway– Inland

– Territorial waters to 12 nm

– Coastline >100000 km

• Norwegian EEZ

• Svalbard and Bear

Island

• Jan Mayen

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

LegislationsIn Norwegian Waters

(12nm)

• Pollution Control Act

• Svalbard Environmental

Protection Act

• Regulations concerning

notification of acute pollution or

danger of acute pollution

• Safe Sea Net Norway all ships

irrespective of size, carrying

dangerous or polluting cargo

(EU harbours)

• Regulations concerning

In Norwegian Economic

Zone (12-200 nm)

• Pollution act applies to Off -

shore oil industry and all

Norwegian ships

• IMO Convention relating to

Intervention on the High Sea in

cases of Oil Pollution, and

radioactive substances.,

prevent, mitigate end

eliminate.

• Marpol- regulations concerning

the prevention of pollution from

ships

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

At the source Prevent drift/spreading/sinking

Along drift trajectory

In littoral areas

On the beach

Priority: - Life, health, safety > - Environmental >

- Economical interest

After recovery of free-floating oil and the situation at sea is

stabilised.

Response strategy

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

NCA ‘s role – acute pollution

• NCA is the pollution control authority for all acute pollution (significant pollution that occurs suddenly and that is not permitted by the Pollution Control Act) except nuclear materials (Norwegian Radiation protection Authority)

• 24/7 duty officers, approx 1300 cases of acute or danger of acute pollution pr. year.

• Different roles: – Adviser to the polluter, or to local authorities

– Inspections and control (does the polluter handle the situation satisfactory?), Legal action

– Wholly or partly assume command of efforts to deal with the accident

NCA’s role with accidents including

radioactive materials• We will follow ships closely if we now they have

radioactive materials or nuclear machinery.

• If an accident should happen we, will work closely in

cooperation with Norwegian Joint Rescue Centre and the

Norwegian Radiation Authority.(Life and health first).

• Only take action after safe job analyzes have been

carried out.

• We have no special ships for situations which includes

dangerous levels of radiation.

• We have teems of special trained and equiped firefighters

(HAZMAT)

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Preventive measures

• Traffic control

• Sea pilots

• Position tug vessels

according to ships with

HAZMAT cargo

• Regulated sailing

routes

• Navigation

improvments

• AIS, satellite

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Cooperated national response

Coast Guard - Navy

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

National Institute of Nutrition

and Seafood Research

Norwegian Environment Agency

Norwegian Meteorological Institute

International agreements and

pollution response cooperation

• The Bonn Agreement

• The Copenhagen Agreement

• The NorBrit Agreement

• The Barents Sea Agreement

• EMSA – Assistance through MIC

• Arctic Council– EPPR WG

– Arctic oil spill agreement

• North Atlantic Coast Guard forum

• ICE (and MAR-ICE)

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Wreck removal and oil Recovery

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

New priority after oil toxity

test. German coal based

oils from WWII are more

harmful to marine

organisms than other oils

Gateway to the arctic ocean

Environmental Risk

Resource groups included

in the analysis:

- Sea birds

- Sea mammals

- Fish

- The shoreline

Highest Environmental Risk

on the west coast of

Spitsbergen (Isfjorden and

around Bjørnøya )

throughout the year. This is

because of the fact that

these areas have most of

the traffic.Sea birds

summer

Sea- traffic in Sept. 2013

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Satellite surveillance

Surveillance aircraft

Beechcraft King Air 350ER

• ut to 12 hours flying time

• surveillance (low alt) 1300 nm

• FLIR (incl laser)

• SLAR (20kw antenna)

• AIS (live datastream to shore)

• Downlink

• Drop Tube

• SAR direction finder

• Communication: Satcom,

MF/HF, Duplex, VHF/FM/AM

• Radiac

• HD Video/photo

NCA equipment

• 16 main equipment depots– 45 000 metres of oil boom,

– 140 oil recovery devices,

– boats, beach cleaning equipment etc..,

• 5 NCA Oil Recovery Vessels

• 4 Emergency Towing Vessels

• 39 Boom towing vessels

• 1 Surveillance Aircraft

• 11 Coast Guard Vessels with OR

• National and international agreements

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Thank you for your attention!

“working to keep our coast and waters among the safest and purest in the world”