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 | ||||
| 73/78 | III | IV | V | VI |
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Spill Response
| OPRC '90 | OPRC HNS |
Compensation
| CLC | Fund | Supp | HNS* | Bunker | ||
| '69 | '76 | '92 | '92 | Fund | ||
| ✔ |
* not yet in force
Regional & Bilateral Agreements
- Abidjan Convention (with states of the West and Central African Region).
Date of issue: November 1997