Latest update May 22nd, 2026 12:38 AM
Guyana’s National Oil Spill Plan deficient on protection of sensitive areas, handling affected vessels – AG Report
Kaieteur News – Auditor General, Deodat Sharma has found that Guyana’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is particularly deficient in a number of areas – one such being that there are no provisions on how vessels in distress would be removed and taken to a place of refuge during an oil spill.
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma
In his performance audit report, Sharma said places of refuge during oil spills are essential to protect human life and the environment. Elaborating further, Sharma said a ‘place of refuge’ is a pre-defined site where a ship in need of assistance can be taken to stabilize its condition and reduce the hazards to navigation, and protect human life and the environment. He said the development of contingency plans should provide for specific, high-risk spills with potential places of refuge identified and procedures put in place for their implementation. Sharma said too that these plans should be tailored to protect sensitive areas from the impacts of possible spills to save time during the critical first few hours of a vessel response. Much to his dismay, Guyana’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan does not identify potential places of refuge. As such, the Auditor General said it could not be determined how decision-makers will respond to vessels in distress and how sensitive areas will be protected during an oil spill.
The Civil Defence Commission, which spearheaded the development of the document in collaboration with other agencies acknowledged the foregoing flaw. Notwithstanding this, it said it must be noted that at the time of any spill response, the tactics and strategies to be employed will determine how a vessel will be treated which includes position. It said, “The ultimate priority at the time of an incident would be to save lives, contain the spill and recover or treat pollutants. Removing the vessel may only be done, in Guyana’s context if the vessel is in the channel of any of the main rivers that are being traversed or at the time when full containment and stabilisation are achieved.”
In most spill scenarios, the CDC said vessels remain in the location of the incident since movement and relocation can exacerbate the issue and cause more environmental pollution.
At this time, the Commission said the only authority on the issue of safety zones and anchorage is the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD). The CDC said that agency will advise based on the dynamics of the incident where vessels can be towed into the safety zone, anchorage locations and safe channels.
“It must be noted that given the dynamics of our coastline, there are very little options for marine vessel sheltering without increasing the risks to the area. MARAD is in the process of reviewing this issue and will provide appropriate feedback on the plan moving forward,” the CDC said in its response. As for the issue of sensitive areas being protected, it said responsible parties are being actively engaged in protecting sensitive areas and leveraging their resources to do so.
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