Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

Second ship to combat oil spills will be based in the Black Sea in 2011. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Administrative Board of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). This is a result of the requests made this year from the Executive Agency "Maritime Administration".

We recall that early this year Maritime Administration held a joint exercise with EMSA in Varna to prevent the effects of major oil spills at sea. After an analysis thereof, the Executive Director of the Agency k.d.p. Sergei Tzarnaklyski announced that Bulgaria will insist on a second specialized ship of the European Maritime Safety Agency, equipped with the most modern means to combat major oil spills, to be based in the Black Sea.

Until now, such a ship was located only in Kostantsa, Romania and the Black Sea countries had to rely on it in a case of major incident in the Black Sea. Following the taken actions by the Maritime Administration and the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications EMSA decided to launch a tender for a second ship, which will enhance the ability to deal with such incidents and reduce response time after a request from Black Sea countries.

Forthcoming in the coming months EMSA will announce the competition, as it will involve companies that can provide a vessel, which could be available in any of the Black Sea ports. In no way this will be a burden on the budget or lead to additional economic commitments to our country.