Belize Port Authority is Key Responder In Case of Oil Spill On Ships

The Belize Port Authority is another key player and an important responder to oil spills, particularly when those spills occur in or near our waterways because oil spills are pollution. And because an oil spill is a real possibility on any ship in Belizean waters, certain measures must be followed. Today, the Ports Commissioner, Darlin Gaitan told News Five that if this ever happens, the incident must be reported to the Port Authority. To help guide us about the latest forms of technology and best approaches are some experts, as the Ports Commissioner shared.

 

Darlin Gaitan, Ports Commissioner

“If an incident happened on any ship in Belize’s waters, they have to report to the Belize Port Authority. And that will launch an investigation from our side in terms of the incident itself. The workshop that we are currently hosting for four days is going to deal with the operational side of the response to an oil spill incident. So we’re an important player. We also have vessels, equipment that could be deployed in the event that there needs to be more human resources on the ground to combat an oil spill incident.”

 

Marion Ali

“You’ve also had the input of some consultants, some expert advice. What have they been telling us that maybe we didn’t know before or we weren’t applying before?”

 

Darlin Gaitan

“We do have the Racrempeitc, who are from the IMO and we have IMO consultants on board who are going to bring us up to speed as to new technologies that may have emerged since our National Oil Spill Contingency Plan was adopted in 2018. So a lot of technologies would have changed by now. So we need to know, and so we can be better prepared to provide that assistance.”