Spillcon 2013 and claims and compensation workshop in Cairns, Australia

The Director and Head of Claims Department, Matthew Sommerville participated in Spillcon 2013 held in Cairns, Australia from 8-12 April 2013. Spillcon is one of the tri-annual series of conferences (the others being Interspill and IOSC) at which international experience and knowledge of oil spill prevention, planning, response and economic costs are discussed. This year’s event included discussion on recent incidents and developments such as those which have affected Australia and New Zealand. Presentations were given by representatives from a number of States and organisations, including the Director who spoke about the recent developments and issues associated with the IOPC Funds and related incidents. In addition to the conference, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) organised a large exercise to demonstrate the equipment and response resources available in Australia. The demonstration included low-level application of dispersant by aircraft and deployment of booms and skimmers by a variety of craft.
Immediately following the conference AMSA hosted a one-day claims and compensation workshop, which was delivered by the IOPC Funds and ITOPF. The workshop was attended by 22 participants principally from Australia and New Zealand but also included personnel from Republic of Korea, the Pacific islands and Singapore.