– Oil polluion threats at sea 17 - Coningency Plan 29 - Detecion of oil spills at sea 41 – Oil Spill Response training 49

2 Naional Audit Oice Malta Malta’s level of preparedness to deal with oil polluion at sea Table of Contents List of Abbreviaions 4 Glossary 5 Execuive summary 7

Chapter 1 – Oil polluion threats at sea 17

1.1 Introducion 18 1.2 Oil polluion can have various repercussions 20 1.3 Shipping industry aciviies consitute oil polluion risks 22 1.4 Oil exploraion and exploitaion aciviies pose marine polluion risks 24 1.5 The oil spill response funcion is managed by various Government authoriies and eniies 25 1.6 Various issues hamper the determinaion of oil spill liability 26 1.7 Audit focus and methodology 26 1.8 Report structure 27

Chapter 2 - Coningency Plan 29

2.1 Introducion 30 2.2 The Coningency Plan aims to fulill Malta’s internaional obligaions 30 2.3 The NMPCP mainly caters for spills from either shore side operaions, or vessels operaing in Malta’s territorial waters and coniguous zone 31 2.4 Risk assessments are subject to scope and data limitaions 32 2.5 Provisions on the use of dispersants and designaion of sacriicial areas in the NMPCP are not fully supported by the required guidelines 33 2.6 Legal, organisaional and administraive concerns may potenially hinder the efecive implementaion of the NMPCP 35 2.7 Nearly half of the oil spill coningency plans pertaining to Terminals, Faciliies and Yaching Centres have not yet been submited 39 2.8 Conclusion 40

Chapter 3 - Detecion of oil spills at sea 41

3.1 Introducion 42 3.2 The oil polluion detecion funcion within the CleanSeaNet Alert Region is predominantly reacive to satellite imagery reports 43 3.3 Various other sources furnish Maltese eniies with oil spill reports in internal waters 46 3.4 Conclusion 47

Chapter 4 – Oil Spill Response training 49

4.1 Introducion 50 4.2 A strategic training plan for oil spill response operaions is not yet in place 50 4.3 Insuicient funds and paricipaion levels limit the beneits of simulaion exercises 52 4.4 Conclusion 57 Naional Audit Oice Malta Malta’s level of preparedness to deal with oil polluion at sea 3

Chapter 5 – Oil Spill Response assets 59