Gambia

Spill Notification Point

The Gambia Port Authority
P.O. Box 617
Wellington St
Banjul
Attn: Harbour Master

Tel: +220-224039

Fax: +220-227268

Competent National Authority

The National Environment Agency.

Contact details unknown

Response Arrangements

The government departments responsible for controlling marine pollution and dealing with accidental spills from ships are the Gambia Port Authority, the The National Environment Agency and the Gambian Navy.

No national contingency plan exists. However, the International Maritime Organisation is in the process of assisting with a draft plan for the country. The major ports have local contingency plans in place.

Response Policy

No official spill response policy exists. However, any response would involve manual clean-up of the many long sandy beaches which are an important tourist attraction.

Under local law the dumping of hazardous, toxic, or radio active substances into Gambian waters is prohibited. In addition, failure to remove any produced oily waste may lead to the imposition of fines.

Equipment

Government & Private

Limited stocks of boom and dispersant are held by the major ports. Any response would rely on public works and port equipment and agricultural equipment, and manual shoreline clean-up.

Previous Spill Experience

There do not appear to have been any major spills. However, oil/tar balls are regularly washed onto beaches. 

Conventions

Prevention & Safety

MARPOL Annexes
73/78IIIIV V VI

Spill Response

OPRC '90 OPRC HNS

Compensation

CLCFundSuppHNS*Bunker
'69 '76 '92 '92Fund

* not yet in force 

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

  • Abidjan Convention (with states of the West and Central African Region).

Date of issue: November 1997

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