Oil Spill Contingency Plans For Malaysia, Florida And Qatar

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to compare oil spill contingency plans of Malaysia, Florida and Qatar. The idea behind the comparison is to identify best oil spill contingency plan practices to expedite the removal of the spill. Furthermore, the three places are selected due to increased oil tankers traffic. Oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity mainly into the ocean or coastal waters. Oil may be a variety of materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products or by-products, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste. Spills take months or even years to clean up. Most human-made oil pollution comes from land-based activity, but public attention and regulation has tended to focus most sharply on seagoing oil tankers. Malaysia, Florida and Qatar have unique needs and requirements for responding to oil spills, and all have basic needs for an oil spill contingency plan. The Straits of Malacca which stretches for 575.4 miles is situated between Peninsular Malaysia and the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The Straits is at its widest in the northern entrance which is almost 253.176 miles and at its narrowest point of barely 9.2064 miles at the southern end. The Straits of Malacca is recognized worldwide as one of the busiest waterway in the world. It is strategically located for movements of vessels to the east and west of the globe. On average about 200 vessels of various types ply the route daily. The Malaysia and Qatar oil spill contingency plans area have tiered response system, which defines a clear responsibility and authority for any tier in the tiered response. Of late the Straits of Malacca is facing an increasing threat of serious oil pollution from ships. Oil is being deliberately discharged or spilled as a result of collision. A few major incidents have occurred over the last 20 years in the Straits of Malacca. Florida and Qatar has a diverse coastal environment that is important not only for their ecosystem but for the revenue it generates from tourism and fishing. Florida's response system is a network-based operation controlled by county or city officials, depending on the degree of spill, location and the available resource. Growing tanker traffic in Florida waters, shortage of cleanup equipment, types of currents, shallow reefs, and vulnerable coastline all contribute to greater potential damage from an oil spill. Qatar occupies the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and is oil rich nation. The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, commonly called the National Contingency Plan is the United States federal government's blueprint for responding to both oil spills and hazardous substance releases. The oil spill contingency for Malaysia, Florida and Qatar work well, however Florida response system has some advantages like oil spill information database which enables quicker response. The systems need to enhance their coordination ...