The IOPC Funds at Interspill 2022

The IOPC Funds participated in Interspill 2022, the European oil spill conference and exhibition which took place at the RAI Exhibition Centre, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 21-23 June 2022.

This was one of the first face to face events for the oil spill industry since the pandemic and provided a great opportunity for the Secretariat to reconnect with fellow organisations and representatives from the spill response community.  Having supported Interspill for many years as a member of the Interspill Committee, the IOPC Funds’ Secretariat was involved in the organisation of the 2022 event and delivered a number of activities and presentations during the course of the week.

On Monday 20 June, prior to the opening of the main conference and exhibition, the IOPC Funds and the International Group of P&I Associations, ran a Claims & Compensation short course, providing guidance on how to submit claims for the cost of clean-up operations in particular.

The IOPC Funds and the International Group continued that collaboration throughout the event, as they shared a stand in the exhibition hall, providing the opportunity to meet with those who may at some point need to submit claims for response efforts following an incident, as well as Government representatives.

Deputy Director, Liliana Monsalve, chaired a conference session on contingency planning and preparedness and Information Officer, Victoria Turner, chaired a session on outreach and communications.

Senior Claims Manager, Chiara Della Mea, delivered a presentation on the life of an incident, explaining all the stages and stakeholders involved from the outset through to final payment of compensation. She also ran an interactive session together with ITOPF on claims for environmental damage and post spill studies and a further session with the International Group on pollution response claims.

Claims Manager, Mark Homan, delivered two interactive sessions as part of the new Interspill Academy. The first covered reporting and contributions under the 2010 HNS Convention and included a Q&A session with a representative from the Dutch chemical industry (VCNI). The second, which was delivered jointly with the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), introduced the tools and guidelines available relating to HNS incidents and the 2010 HNS Convention. A representative from the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management joined the speakers at that session to give an update on progress towards implementation of the Convention.

The members of the Secretariat present also participated in a diversity, equality and inclusion workshop which attracted a great mix and number of participants who shared experiences and discussed ways to improve the maritime and spill response community in that regard.

Overall, Interspill 2022 was a successful event, which enabled the IOPC Funds to discuss latest developments, create awareness and provide information on the international liability and compensation regime directly.