International cooperation on oil spill preparedness

Very few countries have sufficient resources for combating oil spills and other pollution incidents on their own. Norway therefore cooperates closely with other nations on mutual assistance in the following agreements and forums:

Copenhagen Agreement

Denmark including Greenland and the Faroe island, Iceland, Finland including Åland island, Sweden and Norway are parties to this agreement, which covers mutual notification, assistance and aerial surveillance of oil and other chemicals at sea.

Bonn Agreement

In order to limit acute oil and chemical pollution in the North Sea including Ireland, all countries bordering on the North Sea have entered into an agreement on mutual notification, assistance and environmental surveillance.

EU ERCC and EMSA

Norway is a member of EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency). The Department for Emergency Response participates in the cooperation on Marine Pollution. The Norwegian Coastal Administration is Norway’s contact unit for notifications and request for assistance related of marine pollution via the Emergency Response Coordination centre (ERCC).

Cooperation Norway–Russia

Norway and Russia have signed agreements on, among other issues, mutual notification, drills and combating acute oil spills in the Barents Sea.

NORBRIT Plan

Norway and the UK have developed the Norbrit Plan for joint counter pollution operations in the zone extending 50 miles either side of the median line separating the UK and Norwegian continental shelf.

Arctic Cooperation

The eight Arctic States signed in 2013 the Agreement on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response on, among other issues, mutual notification, drills and combating acute oil spills in the Arctic.

The Arctic Council consists of eight countries that have interests in the Arctic. The Department for Emergency Response is involved in the Council’s work on acute pollution preparedness through the committee for Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR).

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The Department for Emergency Response is involved in the IMO’s work on preparedness against acute pollution. Some of our staff participates in the Prevention, Prevention, Response (PPR) sub-committee, which among other things follows up the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation. To a certain extent, the department also participates in the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC).

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

Personnel from the Department for Emergency Response are used as specialist advisers and project managers in connection with agreements with developing countrie