Work to further develop Cambodia's national oil spill contingency plan has been underway at a workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (24-26 October). Some 50 delegates from across key government entities, ports, and the oil and gas and shipping industry took part in the workshop, the latest in a series of IMO-assisted events on oil spill contingency planning in South-East Asia.

The workshop aimed to provide participants with an understanding on the international framework for oil spill preparedness and response, including IMO's Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) Convention. Under the convention, countries are required to establish measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in cooperation with other countries.

The workshop supported participants to update the existing draft National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), to provide for effective response to oil spill incidents. An action was developed, towards finalization and implementation of the NOSCP.

The workshop was organized under the framework of the Global Initiative project for South East Asia (GI SEA), a joint project with the oil and gas industry (IPIECA), which supports implementation of the OPRC Convention.