Energy experts, environmentalists, and security operatives are meeting in Accra to fashion out how to detect oil spillage in the marine waters of the country.
The one-week workshop is also to equip the participants to use appropriate techniques to clean up pollutants in marine waters and dispose of recovered material in an environmentally acceptable manner. The participants are drawn from the Ministry of Energy, Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Navy, the Air Force, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service.
The workshop is organised by the EPA and the Tullow Ghana Limited. Two consultants of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), John Ostergaard, Director of the Oil Spill Training Company and Ms Gail Nzumalo, a senior consultant of Oil Spill Response are the facilitators of the workshop.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Omane Boamah, said the Gulf of Guinea was becoming an important area for petroleum exploration and production activities.
He said the density of marine traffic, especially oil tankers in close proximity to the coast had already increased accordingly.
�These developments present a fairly high risk of marine pollution from blowouts, collusions, standing and other marine accidents,� he said.
Dr Boamah said such pollution could threaten beaches, sea birds, coastal installation and fisheries with subsequent loss of revenue and livelihoods.
He said the EPA which was responsible for National oil spill response, did not have the sufficient equipment for combating oil spill. He therefore, stressed the need for the EPA to join hands with the industry to conduct exercises needed to increase their response preparedness.
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