Wildlife Response, with a focus on the Mediterranean, presented to MOIG Members

On 21 September, Sea Alarm successfully collaborated with Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) to deliver a webinar for the Mediterranean Oil Industry Group (MOIG) on Tiered Preparedness for Wildlife Response in the Mediterranean Region. Over 25 representatives from Mediterranean oil companies and authorities attended to learn more about the current limited status of wildlife response preparedness in the Mediterranean Region, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot with an increasing risk of oil spills due to growing human activities such as maritime traffic and oil and gas activities. The recent oil spill in Israel and Lebanon in February 2021 was a reminder of the presence of this risk in the Mediterranean. In this context, MOIG Members were introduced to wildlife response and existing good practice principles and tools to develop Tier-1 and Tier-2 preparedness. Sea Alarm together with OSRL stressed the need to invest into preparedness in order to develop in-country capabilities. OSRL also took the opportunity to present their Tier-3 wildlife response services including the Sea Alarm Technical Advisory role, the Wildlife Equipment Packages as well as the proposed GOWRS Assessment Team Service. This webinar represents a clear sign of growing interest from the oil industry to consider wildlife response as an integral component of oil spill preparedness, as well as a willingness to further industry in-country preparedness and promote this improvement at regional level.