10th National Pollution Response Exercise takes place in Chennai, India

Successful responses to marine pollution incidents often lie in the preparation and testing of contingency plans to improve readiness and coordination between stakeholders during an incident.

The 10th National Pollution Response Exercise, NATPOLREX, took place in Chennai, India, to test, validate and improve India’s readiness to marine pollution incidents. More than 100 national delegates attended from central ministries, state governments, ports, and oil-handling agencies, as well as more than 40 observers from other nations.

Represented by Samuel Durrance, ITOPF opened the technical session on the first day of the exercise, delivering a presentation and leading a discussion on responding to spills of plastic pellets in the marine environment. ITOPF's industry-leading experience in responding to these spills continues to grow and sharing its knowledge helps to increase global understanding of how best to tackle these incidents, and the challenges they pose.

ITOPF thanks the INDIAN COAST GUARD for their continued working relationship and inclusion in this key exercise for India’s response capabilities and are grateful for the opportunity to speak with many of the international delegates present.