Spill Notification Point

Competent National Authority

Response Arrangements

The National Contingency Plan became effective in 1994. This plan requires the three marine districts of Alger, Oran and Jijel to maintain a response plan for combating pollution at sea and on shore and local authorities to have suitable arrangements in place. These are overseen by a national committee presided over by the Minister of the Environment. A review of the National Contingency Plan is underway; this will include arrangements for HNS response (Information from May 2011).

In the event of an incident, command is allocated according to the size of the spill. The Minister of the Environment will assume control at a national level. At a regional level, command is assumed by the commander of the relevant marine district. Local authorities have a responsibility for minor incidents. The Coast Guard has operational responsibility for response at sea. The relevant administrative districts are in charge of clean-up on shore. In practice, Civil Protection units under the Ministry of Defence will undertake any shoreline clean-up.

Response Policy

No dispersant use policy has been defined. However, containment and recovery of oil at sea is a preferred option, together with protection of sensitive areas and shoreline clean-up.

Equipment

Government & Private

Existing response resources are not fully known, but a significant amount of equipment has been placed with the Port of Skikda including dispersant, spraying and containment & recovery equipment and fire boom.  In 2007 a multinational company called the Oil Spill Response Company (OSPREC) was created in Algeria by 8 oil companies, with the mission of combating marine pollution caused by hydrocarbons.   Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned energy company, holds 49.5% of the company’s shares and Eni (Italy), Total (France), Statoil (Norway), Samir (Morocco), Sonangol (Angola), and Repsol and Cepsa (Spain) are the other parties involved.

Previous Spill Experience

The JUAN ANTONIO LAVALLEJA (1980) spilt 28,000 tonnes of Algerian condensate after striking a breakwater at the port of Arzew. No clean-up response was necessary due to rapid natural dispersion and evaporation. The OUED GUETERINI (1986) spilt 15 tonnes of bitumen in the port of Algiers. Contamination of an adjacent power station water intake, including heat exchangers, necessitated closure of the facility for cleaning and repairs.

Hazardous & Noxious Substances

Response arrangements for HNS are similar to those for oil spills.  Contingency arrangements for HNS are being devised alongside the National Contingency Plan; local plans are also in development. No specific equipment is available for HNS spills.  Algeria has suffered no ship-source HNS-related incidents.

Compensation

* not yet in force 

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

• Barcelona Convention (with states bordering the Mediterranean).

For further information see REMPEC (Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea) Country Profile (http://www.rempec.org/country.asp?cid=4&IDS=2_1&daNme=General%20Information&openNum=1)

Date of issue: May 2011