OIL SPILL RESPONSE IN TURKEY

In Turkey, the Ministry of Environment, the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs of the Prime Ministry and the Turkish Coast Guard are the authorities responsible for pollution prevention.

The Ministry of Environment is responsible for elaborating short, medium and long‑term objectives, coordinating and cooperating with other relevant authorities for the implementation of programs and investment plans for the protection of environment and for the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

The Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs is liable to take all necessary measures to prevent deterioration and pollution of marine environment.

The Coast Guard is responsible for search and rescue, protection of marine life and environment, control of navigational aids.

To summarize, the Ministry of Environment is responsible for the coordination of all issues related to pollution, while the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs and the Coast Guard are responsible for operational aspects of oil pollution prevention and response.

Both national legislation and international conventions constitute a legal basis to actions aimed at eliminating or attenuating the effects of maritime accidents, which may result in oil or chemical pollution.

National Legislation on Marine Pollution.

Marine pollution is controlled and regulated by several national laws and regulations.

The Environment Act, which entered into force in 1983, aims at enhancing the environment, rational use of land and natural resources in both urban and rural areas, prevention of water, air and soil pollution.

According to the Environnment Act, ships polluting the sea in municipal areas may be fined by municipal administration and outside these areas by the Coast Guard.

The Ministry of Environment is currently working on amendments to the Environment Law in accordance with international requirements.

The Regulation on the Control of Water Pollution, the Regulation

Concerning the Establishment of Liability in Fines to be Levied on Ships and other Maritime Vessels, and the Procedures for Levying Fines and

Receipts will provide the necessary technical details and standards in the implementation of these laws. In parallel to international practices aiming at the prevention of seas for being polluted by vessels and other sea crafts, work has been accelerated to establish port reception facilities in Turkey.

The Water Products Law, which entered into force in 1971, has banned the discharge into marine and inland water areas of substances which may harm water products, the consumers of these products, or the equipment used for harvesting those products. It has also prohibited the construction of facilities, which might cause such discharges.

Turkish Search and Rescue Regulation entered into force in 1989. The

Regulation defines search and rescue operations as activities concerning search and. rescue of endangered persons in marine vessels and aircraft. A Main Search and Rescue Centre has been established for the coordination of operations according to this Regulation.

International Conventions.

Turkey is a party to the following international conventions related to the prevention of marine pollution:

· International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea‑ SOLAS 1974

· Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea‑COLREG 1972.

· International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships-MARPOL 73/78 and its Annexes 1, 11 and V.

· Convention on the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims‑LLMC‑1976

· International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue‑ SAR 1979

· Convention on Protection of Mediterranean Against Pollution and its protocols (Barcelona Convention).

· Convention on Protection of Black Sea Against Pollution ‑and its protocols (Bucharest Convention)

· Agreement on Cooperation Regarding Maritime Search and Rescue Services Among Black Sea Coastal States.

The ratification processes for the Civil Liability Convention as amended by the 1992 protocol (CLC 1992), for the International Convention on Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage as amended by the 1992 Protocol (FUND 1992) and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) are being completed.

National Contingency Plan

The sea may be considerably polluted by accidents as well as by discharges of ballast and bilge water. Increase in the dimension of vessels and in the size of their cargo has brought new approaches to avert pollution risks due to sea accidents. The sea, the air and the living species are under threat from accidents involving large vessels, particularly tankers.

Timely and ‑adequate response to any navigational accidents or incidents in operations involving handling dangerous cargo in ports and terminals is a basic requirement for the elimination of risks. The framework for required response arrangements is usually formulated in national contingency plans. These plans specify issues such as institutional and organisational responsibilities, required communication networks, modalities for activating response arrangements.

The Ministry of Environment, the Undersecretaniat for Maritime Affairs, the Coast Guard and the Coastal Safety and Salvage Administration have drafted a National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution Emergency Cases.

The draft National Contingency Plan, which will be enacted as a law, covers the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Sea of Marmara, and the Turkish Straits. In addition separate Contingency Plans for large coastal cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Trabzon, Samsun and some industrial areas have been prepared.

The local Contingency Plan for Istanbul was successfully implemented during Nassia and Volganeft 248 tanker accidents, which occurred in the Strait of Istanbul in 1994 and 1999, respectively.

Equipment to combat spills is owned by the State or private companies. These are primarily operated by the government entity, the General Directorate for Coastal Safety and Salvage, located in Istanbul. Moreover, municipal authorities operate many pumps and vacuum trucks. Additional oil spill cleaning equipment is available at the oil companies in Turkey. There are 11 ports along the Turkish Black Sea Coast, but no oil refinery or production terminal.