New regulations that enhance the preparedness levels to tackle oil spills will be the main agenda for the upcoming Oil Spill Preparedness, Response and Recovery Mena 2013 conference in Abu Dhabi.

The event will run from June 16 to 19 at the Beach Rotana Hotel.

The Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (Memac), the GCC’s cooperation body tasked with strengthening the capacities of member states to tackle and prevent oil pollution, will unveil a master plan to handle the issue at the conference.

“With over 50,000 ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz daily, a number which is expected to rise to 60,000 by 2015, the need to be better prepared to prevent and respond to oil spills is greater than ever,” said Memac director Capt M Al- Janahi.

Joining Memac at this pivotal oil spill event are speakers and attendees from the region’s leading NOCs, IOCS, government authorities, port companies, shipping companies, police authorities, naval forces, coast guards, environment agencies, health authorities and key solution providers all concerned with protecting the marine environment in the Mena region.

The two-day conference aims to highlight key challenges in recovering from, preventing, and responding to oil spills, to present ground-breaking case studies, to improve regional collaboration for enhanced preparedness levels.

Accompanied by the two interactive workshops, the forum promises an assembly of all major stakeholders and decision-makers from the industry.

This event is organised by IQPC Dubai who are overwhelmed with the amount of interest being generated from the industry.

“We’re excited and grateful for the response we have received from the industry and this has made us even more determined to bring together and engage all these stakeholders in ensuring this region finally breaks the shackles and improves cooperation for the benefit of the region’s marine environment,” said the event’s project director Udit Arora. – TradeArabia News Service