Coast guards of friendly countries undergoing IMO Oil Pollution Response Course in Chennai

The participants witnessed a demonstration of oil containment using a boom, skimmers and application of Oil Spill Dispersant onboard the Indian Coast Guard ship Shaurya. According to Indian Coast Guard officials, the nations pursuing the course include the Maldives, Cambodia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Indonesia.

A post on the official X handle of the Indian Coast Guard read, "Collaboration for Capacity Building. 20 participants from Coast Guards of Friendly Countries undergoing IMO Oil Pollution Response Course at Chennai."

"Witnessed demonstration of oil containment using boom, skimmers & application of Oil Spill Dispersant onboard @IndiaCoastGuard ship Shaurya," it added.

Last week, 52 officers and sailors from friendly countries arrived for specialised training by the Indian Coast Guard. The coast guard is conducting two specially designed courses under the aegis of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC)

In a press release on March 11, the Indian Coast Guard stated, "In continuation with the initiative of "Capacity Building Through Meaningful Training" for the Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs), the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is conducting two specially designed courses under the aegis of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) commencing from today."

"The two professional courses are modelled and designed in consonance with the best international practices/ regulations and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) instruments aiming to strengthen maritime relationship, and building consensus amongst the like-minded regional maritime nations while dealing with contemporary challenges at sea," it added.

The Maritime Law and Ops Course is being conducted at the Coast Guard Training Centre (CGTC), Kochi since March 11 and will end on March 18, while the second course is on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) IMO Level-I & II by the ICG Pollution Response Team (PRT) at Chennai. Spanning two weeks, the second course commenced on March 11 and will conclude on March 24.

"The course curriculum of Maritime Law & Ops Course covers a wide canvas wherein the foreign trainees will be exposed to the facets of international Maritime Law and management of ocean resources, Maritime Search & Rescue (M-SAR), Marine Pollution Response (MPR), Visit Board Search & Seizure (VBSS) and Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS)," the Indian Coast Guard stated further in the release.

"On the other hand, the trainees participating in IMO Level-I & II Course will be provided hands-on training on the aspect of Oil Pollution preparedness, Response and Cooperation which is duly validated by the IMO. Both the courses will be conducted through class room instruction by ICG Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) besides practical demonstration onboard ICG Ships," it added.

32 trainees from 11 friendly countries are participating in the Maritime Law & Ops Course while the IMO Level-I & II Course is attended by 20 trainees from six friendly foreign countries. Notably, the Indian Coast Guard has trained 190 officers and 257 sailors from the Coast Guards/ Maritime Agencies of the FFCs under the ITEC programme in the last three years, according to the release. (ANI)