Spill Notification Point

Competent National Authority

Response Arrangements

The Gibraltar Port Authority (GPA) established in 2005 is responsible for pollution prevention and response in Gibraltar. In the event of an incident, the Gibraltar Port Authority in conjunction with the Department of the Environment (DOE) would initiate the Gibraltar Oil Spill Contingency Plan. Mobilisation may involve assets from various sectors, including port operators, GPA, Gibraltar Maritime Authority, DOE, Gibraltar Tourist Board and the Environment Agency.

In January 2015, GPA announced that it had updated its Oil Spill Contingency Plan. This forms part of the Gibraltar government's wider national contingency planning.

It is likely that the authorities of Spain would assist in the event of any serious pollution threat.

Response Policy

Dispersants would be applied in Gibraltar as a last resort. In the Harbour, response options focus on containment and recovery. It seems likely that dispersant policy would follow United Kingdom guidelines.

Equipment

Government & Private

The Gibraltar Port Authority has a stockpile of equipment, including a catamaran with built in skimmer, offshore boom, inshore boom, as well as a selection of skimmers and an amount of temporary storage.

Gibraltar is an Associate Member of OSRL and, as such, is able to call on its resources and equipment to assist in any major incident.

Brightside Services Ltd based in Gibraltar have a range of equipment, including booms, skimmers, beach cleaning systems, shore and floating storage and boat mounted side sweep systems.

OSRA part of Tarik Shipping also provide oil spill response services in Gibraltar.

In 2015 the government of Gibraltar announced that Resolve Marine Group was establishing a base in Gibraltar and would provide maritime fire and emergency response capabilities.

Previous Spill Experience

Small operational spills have occurred in port. Two tankers PETRAGEN ONE and CAMPONAVIA (1995) were involved in a fire and explosion at the San Roque Refinery in Algeciras, Spain. The incident resulted in the release of Heavy Fuel Oil, small amounts of lubricating oil and quantities of naphtha and gasoline. While the latter two were burnt off in the resulting fire some floating oil did require clean-up from the Gibraltar authorities. In 2008 bulk carrier FEDRA grounded near Europa Point and broke up during adverse weather spilling IFO 180. Both the Gibraltar and Spanish authorities responded to the grounding and subsequent releases of oil. OSRL was also mobilised by the GPA.

Compensation

* not yet in force 

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

• Gibraltar is not a party to any regional agreements.

Date of issue: December 2015