OSCE Office supports workshop on international compensation and liability for oil spills at sea

BAKU, 3 November 2011 – The OSCE Office in Baku, the Emergency Situations Ministry of Azerbaijan and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) are co-hosting a two-day workshop on international compensation and liability regimes for oil spills incidents at sea that started in Baku today.

The forum brings together a large number of experts and policymakers, both national and international, who will contribute to national contingency planning for oil spills and the oil industry. They will also discuss best practices for compensation and liability mechanisms, using examples of the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea regions.

Local and international experts consider this issue to be highly relevant for Azerbaijan, as the volume of oil transportation across the Caspian Sea is expected to rise further in the coming years due to the discovery of new oil fields on the eastern shore.

“Recent examples of major oil spills disasters in other parts of the world have reminded us of the potential environmental and economic consequences, in particular damage to biodiversity and local livelihoods, as well as the issue of liability and compensation claims. They have also highlighted the need for an efficient and co-ordinated response to oil spills emergencies at sea,” Ambassador Koray Targay, the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, said in his opening speech.
“The OSCE Office in Baku has a close co-operation with the Government of Azerbaijan and is ready to provide continued support and expertise in the field of oil spills preparedness.”

“The intensification of oil and gas production in the Caspian Sea, the establishment of relevant infrastructure and the transportation of oil products have led to increased risks of sea pollution by oil and chemical substances,” said Rafail Mirzayev, the First Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, underlining the importance of co-operation in this field between the Caspian littoral states and foreign companies operating in the oil and gas sectors.

Azerbaijan is party to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation. In addition, Azerbaijan and other littoral states of the Caspian Sea Basin signed the Protocol on Regional Co-operation in Case of Major Oil Pollution incidents of the Caspian Sea, which was included in the International Convention on Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention). 

In 2008, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki addressed the need to build up effective oil spill response capacities and urged the participating States to strengthen dialogue and co-operation, in particular by becoming parties to relevant international legal instruments.