The Executive Agency “Maritime Administration” (EAME) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) successfully completed the joint oil spill response exercise "Burgas 2024". During the event, held in the period 11-12 July in Burgas, were presented real situations of liquidation of major oil pollution by the forces and means provided in the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.
The specialised vessel “GALAXY ECO” was used in the exercise, as well as EMSA’s oil spill fighting equipment (Equipment Assistance Service), and the Directorate General “Emergency Rescue” of EAME participated with its own teams.
The first part of the exercise included testing the mechanisms for international assistance by the European Maritime Safety Agency, after which the participants moved on to a play-by-play of elements of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. The steps in case of incidents were visually presented, some of which included inspection, assessment and forecasting in case of an oil spill, notification and communication through specialised software and decision making for actual action of national forces and means for spill response.
The aim of the exercise is to upgrade the organization and skills of the responsible national institutions, as well as to improve the interaction with EMSA, in dealing with the consequences of an incident related to a spill of oil products.