The 'National Level Pollution Response Exercise' (NATPOLREX) was organized by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The 8th edition of its two-day exercise was inaugurated on April 19 2022 at Mormugao harbour, Goa.
It was attended by participants from 50 agencies, including observers from 22 friendly foreign countries and international organizations and Coast Guard ships from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It aims to enhance the preparedness and response capability of all stakeholders in dealing with the spillage of pollutants into the sea. Also, to validate the procedures and guidelines contained in the ‘National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP)’ at the national and regional levels under the aegis of the South Asian Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP). India is a member state of SACEP.
During the exercise, components of NOSDCP were implemented to verify and improve contingency plans and to assess the preparedness of resource agencies as well as stakeholders to deal with any spill-related disaster at sea.