Oil Spill Exercises in Israel

In recent weeks, in the shadow of the dire news concerning the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, two major oil spill exercises and training sessions took place in Israel. The drills were held with the framework of a program run by the Marine and Coastal Environment Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which simulates the treatment and prevention of marine pollution by oil in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat for training purposes. They are part of a series of exercises carried out within the framework of Israel's "National Contingency Plan for Large Scale Oil Spills."

Marine Pollution Prevention Training in Ashkelon

The first training session, carried out at the end of May 2010, at the Eilat Ashkelon Oil Pipeline site in Ashkelon, covered the following subjects:
- Types of oils and fuels;
- Environmental impacts of marine pollution by oil;
- Treatment methods for oil spills at sea and shore;
- Alternative methods for biological and chemical treatment of oil spills;
- Practical exercise on deploying equipment at sea and the coast.

The training session was targeted at:
- Organizations dealing with the transport, production or maintenance of oils and fuels;
- Position holders in coastal local authorities;
- Israeli Electric Corporation personnel;
- Enforcement bodies in the Ministry of Environmental Protection including the Marine and Coastal Environment Division, the Green Police, the Nature and Parks Authority, volunteers and more.

Oil Spill Exercise in the Gulf of Eilat

On June 7, 2010, teams of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nature and Parks Authority and Eilat Underwater Observatory Marine Park successfully completed an oil pollution combat exercise in the Almog Beach in Eilat. The aim of the exercise was to test and operate the emergency plan of the Nature and Parks Authority for protecting the coral reserve from oil spills. As part of the exercise, oil containment booms were deployed around the marine reserve in order to prevent oil stains from reaching this sensitive site. In addition, fuel pumping equipment was operated and the system for the transport of the fuels to receiving tankers was activated.

Source: Israel Ministry of the Environment - News