Spill Notification Point

Competent National Authority

Response Arrangements

The Kenya Port Authority, KPA, under the Kenya Ports Authority Act, has responsibility for controlling pollution in the territorial waters of Kenya (ie all inshore waters and those extending up to 100 nautical miles (about 160km) offshore).

The KPA, together with representatives of the oil industry, the shipping industry and bunkering services has set up the National Oil Spill Response Committee (NOSRC) which has developed a National Oil Spill Response Contingency Plan (July 2001).  The Plan recognises three levels of potential oil spill incidents within Kenyan territorial waters.  Tier One incidents will involve spillages of up to 100 tonnes of oil and are expected to be dealt with primarily by the operators responsible, if within their own installations.  Only spills at sea will activate the Plan and the NOSRC.  Tier Two spillages will comprise up to 1000 tonnes of oil and are the level of spill on which the Plan focuses most.  These moderate sized spills are beyond the capability of one single operator and the cooperative effort provided by the Plan will be applied.  However, depending on the extent of the spill, climatic and other conditions at the time, and the resources that are threatened, even a Tier Two spill may need to be treated as a Tier Three incident.  Tier Three incidents involve larger spills.  In such cases, the NOSRC will provide “first aid” but will be unable to cope adequately with its own resources and will require external assistance as identified in the Plan.

The Plan also identifies the resources that are at risk, assesses the level of risk involved and provides guidelines for shoreline cleanup depending on the type of shoreline contaminated.  It provides a list of what needs to be done when oil is discovered to have been spilled; who is responsible for particular tasks; the lines of communication to ensure coordination of effort; and a directory of equipment, contractors, suppliers, experts and maps of sensitive areas.

The major oil companies (Shell, BP, Mobil, Kenol/Kobil, Caltex, Agip and Total) formed OSMAG (Oil Spill Mutual Aid Group) in 1996 with the aim of creating a joint capability among all the oil companies using the Mombasa port to respond effectively to oil spills.  The organisation operates with and integrates the members’ efforts with relevant government parties and maintains links with concerned local, national, regional, international and private organisations. Each member of the group has an obligation to have an oil spill safety plan and to maintain at all times in good usable condition oil spill response equipment.

Response Policy

Dispersants have been the main means of response in the past, especially within the Port of Mombasa, and continue to be used when appropriate. Predominantly unfavourable local conditions are, in the main, not conducive to the use of mechanical containment and recovery techniques at sea. However, the merit of these techniques would be considered at the time of a spill and implemented if suitable.

Shoreline clean-up would be achieved by collecting oil and oily waste manually using casual labour equipped with hand tools.

Equipment

Government

Specialised response equipment owned by KPA is located in Mombasa. This consists of a tug equipped with spraying equipment and a catamaran equipped with boom, spray arms and several skimmers. It is planned that further equipment will be bought in the near future, jointly funded by the resident oil companies and the national authorities. 

Private

The oil industry holds limited stocks of dispersant and sorbent at several refineries. Dispersant spraying resources could be adapted from the fleet of commercially available crop-spraying aircraft. Non-specialised equipment such as bulldozers and front-end loaders could be mobilised easily in most coastal areas and particularly in Mombasa. Additional non-specialised resources would include locally available vacuum trucks and honey-wagons.

Previous Spill Experience

There have been several recent groundings on the reefs outside Mombasa harbour but with no resulting pollution. The most noticeable pollution incident involved the puncture of a shore tank in 1988 spilling 5,000 tonnes of fuel oil into a mangrove creek.

Compensation

* not yet in force

Regional & Bilateral Agreements

• Nairobi Convention (with states of the East African Region).
• Multilateral agreement with Tanzania and the Seychelles to set up a maritime search & rescue centre in Mombasa. This facility is expected to evolve into a global maritime distress and safety systems centre to respond to sea disasters along the East African coast.

Date of issue: February 2008