Trinidad and Tobago has strengthened its national capability for responding to marine incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances (HNS), following a three-day national workshop in Port of Spain (23-25 February).
The event brought together 38 participants from across the country, from both government agencies and key industry stakeholders, to strengthen coordination, share best practices and build technical expertise in managing marine spills.
Participants discussed preparedness and response to HNS spills, how HNS spills differ from oil spills, the challenges posed by containership incidents, and health and safety considerations for responders.
As part of the programme, they visited a local spill response base, where they were given the opportunity to get practical hands-on with personal protective equipment (PPE) and monitoring apparatus used in HNS response.
The workshop provided a platform to review Trinidad and Tobago's draft national contingency plan for responding to HNS spills and its integration with the existing National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which sets out clear roles and coordinated procedures for responding to marine incidents, to protect the country's coastline and marine environment.
To support this capacity analysis, participants were introduced to the RETOS tool, which helps assess national preparedness levels.
The initiative, organized through IMO's Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP), supports Trinidad and Tobago's efforts to advance inter-agency coordination and finalise the draft national contingency plan for responding to HNS spills.
