An anti-pollution exercise, named “NIRIIS 2011”, was fulfilled successfully on Thursday. It was organized by the Ministry of Communications and Works in cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency aiming to examine the national capability of the Republic of Cyprus to mobilize its anti-pollution resources, respond to a major oil spill and also to test the communication and emergency response mechanism.

It was the first anti-pollution exercise in Cyprus, which took place with the participation of sea vessels and aircrafts of the Republic of Cyprus and the anti-pollution vessel “Alexandria”, chartered by the European Maritime Security Authority (EMSA).

The exercise was conducted according to an imaginary scenario involving an oil spill. The scenario involved a Cyprus-bound tanker suffering serious structural damage. A tank containing about 1,800 tons of oil is damaged, immediately beginning to release heavy fuel oil only 22 nautical miles away from Limassol port.

The response was two-fold: notifying all relevant authorities and collecting the spilled oil.
The notification exercise involved response teams, the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism and operators of shore installations including naval bases, power stations and water desalination units.