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Press Release

The Gibraltar Port Authority will be carrying out a three-day oil pollution exercise commencing today. The Fire Brigade, Environmental Agency, the Ministry of Defence, Bunkering Companies and Port Operators will be participating in the exercise, together with representatives of Oil Spill Response Limited from Southampton, UK. OSRL are contracted to provide the Gibraltar Port Authority with the necessary response both in terms of materials and specialist expertise in the event of a major oil spillage.

The exercise will commence with a simulated offshore spill. On the second day, the focus of the exercise will be ashore, for a beach cleaning deployment. The final day will simulate an oil spill inside the port.

The aim of the three-day exercise is to test the resources available in Gibraltar and to provide adequate training for personnel.

The Minister with responsibility for the port, Hon Joe Holliday, said, "This exercise is of considerable importance to ensure that, in the case of a substantial oil spill, Gibraltar will be able to respond adequately, effectively and in a co-ordinated manner. The exercise will test the resources available to us and provide the necessary training for the personnel that would need to respond to this type of incident."