Oil Spill Response Drill in the Caspian Sea Held with Participation of 5 Countries

The Director General of Maritime Safety and Protection at the Ports and Maritime Organization announced a regional drill to respond to oil pollution in the Caspian Sea, aimed at improving operational readiness and strengthening regional coordination, with the participation of five coastal countries.

According to Ambassador Arjan, based on the announcement of the Ports and Maritime Organization; Nader Pasandeh, Director General of Maritime Safety and Protection of the Ports and Maritime Organization, announced the holding of a regional exercise to deal with oil pollution in the Caspian Sea with the participation of five coastal countries and said: This exercise was held with the aim of improving operational readiness, strengthening regional coordination and increasing the ability to respond to possible oil pollution incidents.

Referring to the holding of the regional exercise "Exercise Bravo - Caspian Sea 2026", he said: This exercise was held from October 11 to 17, 1405 under the management of the Islamic Republic of Iran and with the participation of the countries of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Director General of Maritime Safety and Protection of the Ports and Maritime Organization added: This event was implemented in order to improve the readiness of the coastal countries of the Caspian Sea to deal with oil pollution in emergency situations and to develop regional cooperation for the protection of the marine environment.

Pasandeh stated that the planning of this exercise was done based on the annual plan of the Tehran Convention's temporary secretariat based in Geneva, and clarified that: evaluating and strengthening regional protocols for preparing and dealing with oil pollution was one of the most important goals of this exercise.

He continued: In this exercise, the hypothetical scenario of oil pollution in an emergency situation was implemented, and the processes of declaring an emergency, exchanging information and requesting assistance between the maritime authorities of the participating countries were practiced and evaluated.

The General Director of Maritime Safety and Security of the Ports Organization reminded: Iran, as the host country and leader of the exercise, sent a hypothetical request for assistance by determining the timing and informing the participating countries through electronic correspondence and standard forms of the Oil Pollution Report (POLREP) and evaluated the process of receiving responses and announcing the readiness of the countries in the region.

Pandeh clarified: The participating countries also provided information on the level of readiness, equipment, facilities and capacity of their deployable operational teams by confirming the receipt of the emergency message.

Emphasis on cross-border cooperation to protect the Caspian Sea

Referring to the execution day of the maneuver on October 13, 1405, equal to October 5, 2026, he said: This program was implemented with the management of the Ports and Maritime Organization and the participation of the coastal countries of the Caspian Sea, and the participating countries declared their readiness to cooperate in the hypothetical operation to deal with oil pollution and support joint regional measures.

Pasandeh said: Developing cross-border cooperation, promoting operational coordination among coastal countries and strengthening the ability to respond to maritime incidents are among the requirements for effective protection of the environment of the Caspian Sea.

In the end, the Director General of Maritime Safety and Protection of the Ports Organization noted: holding such maneuvers can play an effective role in managing possible oil pollution incidents and protecting the environment of the Caspian Sea by increasing operational readiness and strengthening joint cooperation mechanisms.