Spill Notification Point

Competent National Authority

Response Arrangements

Under national law, the Public Corporation of Maritime Affairs Authority (MAA) is the agency designated with protection of the marine environment and in particular the detection of marine pollution and response to that pollution.

There is no formal national contingency plan and no statutory requirement for ports or oil handling facilities to have such plans in place. However, some voluntary plans have been developed. The port of Aden has developed a plan but this focuses of general marine emergencies rather than oil pollution. In the event of a spill, the authorities would rely on resident oil companies to implement their oil spill response plans.

Response Policy

No formal oil spill response policy has been defined. However, the abundance of coral reefs and mangrove stands would probably limit the potential use of dispersants.

 There are no policies towards the disposal of recovered oil and debris. However, the refinery at Aden may take liquid material for recycling.

Equipment

Government

Government response equipment is limited to a single oil spill response vessel based in Aden, which has boom, skimmer and dispersant capability, and that of the Port Authorities who operate tugs with dispersant spraying capabilities.

Private

Specialised pollution equipment is operated by the resident oil companies including NEXEN Petroleum at Ash Shihr and Yemen Hunt Oil Co. at Ra’s Isa. This includes mechanical recovery equipment, dispersant and spraying equipment. In addition boom and dispersant is owned by local bunker suppliers.

Previous Spill Experience

Due to the high volume of passing ship traffic, weathered oil, in the form of tar balls, are a common occurrence on the shoreline. A spill of Arabian Heavy crude oil, estimated at about 1,000 tonnes, was caused by a terrorist attack on the tanker LIMBURG as she approached the Ash Shihr oil terminal. The spill caused patchy contamination along about 120km of coast from Al Mukalla to Bir Ali. The shores were cleaned mechanically and manually using local resources. 

Compensation

* not yet in force  

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

• Jeddah Convention (with states bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden)
• L'Accord de Djibouti (with Djibouti & Somalia)

Date of issue: September 2006