Spill Notification Point

Competent National Authority

Response Arrangements

The National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) previously the National Emergency Relief Organisation (NERO), established in 1985, is the government lead agency for oil spill control, represented by the National Disaster Coordinator in the Office of the Prime Minister. The Grenada National Pollution Contingency Plan was drafted in December 1996 in close cooperation with REMPEITC-Carib. It provides a framework for cooperation between government, industry and other Caribbean states for response to any pollution incident that may pose a significant threat to the waters or coastal areas of Grenada. The plan is an integral part of the National Disaster Management Plan. The National Response Team (NRT) would assist NaDMA in the event of a pollution incident and comprises representatives from various government departments and the oil industry. The National Disaster Coordinator of Grenada would chair the NRT.  The Grenada Coast Guard has responsibility for co-ordinating and directing any response efforts and would provide the On-Scene Commander.

The oil industry (Sol and Chevron) have prepared contingency plans for spills from their facilities.  They have agreed to provide first tier response, and tier 1-3 response via Clean Caribbean & Americas (CCA-Fort Lauderdale) if one of their tankers is involved.  In other situations assistance would be sought from adjacent Caribbean island states and territories via REMPEITC-Carib.

Response Policy

The response strategy for Grenada is based on the combined approach of containment and recovery, the use of dispersants and manual shoreline cleanup. There are no local stockpiles of dispersant or application equipment.  The use of dispersant requires the approval of the NRT. Small amounts of oily debris could be disposed of by landfill. Large volumes and bulk waste have to be exported for final disposal.

Equipment

Government

There is no government owned counter pollution equipment in stock on the island for offshore deployment.  The Department of Public Works and the Fire Department could arrange local labour and earth moving equipment for shoreline cleanup operations.  The international airport of Grenada could handle any type of aircraft, transporting heavy equipment for clean-up operations.  The Grenada Ports Authority has cleanup resources comprising boom and skimmer sufficient to handle a small spill (Tier 1) at their facilities.

Private

Sol and Chevron both operate terminals at Grand Mal and have cleanup resources comprising boom and skimmers sufficient to handle a small spill (Tier 1) at their facilities. Arrangements exist to pool these resources if required. Both companies are members of Clean Caribbean & Americas (CCA) and would rely on its resources in the event of a major (Tier 3) spill.

Previous Spill Experience

There have not been any major spills affecting Grenada waters.

Compensation

* not yet in force 

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

• Cartagena Convention (with states of the Wider Caribbean Region).
• Grenada is in negotiation with Venezuela to have a bilateral agreement (MOU) on Oil Pollution, Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in place.

Date of issue: July 2008