ROLE OF THE COAST GUARD

IN MARINE ENVIRONMENT SECURITY :

THE P3C FACTORS

(Paper presented by
intentional discharge of oil into the Persian Gulf during
Insp. Gen. Prabhakaran Paleri,
the Gulf War are examples. Such incidents point out that
Deputy Director General,
we cannot discount intentional spills in the marine
Indian Coast Guard, at the
environment. It could come up as an act of war or
Oil Spill Management Workshop held
militancy, or just for economic reasons. The cautious
at Goa on 19-20 Jul 02)
interest in environmental damage and its effects to national
security also comes from the fear of a prolonged nuclear
National security is everyone’s business, because
winter that the world may face in the aftermath of a nuclear
everybody is a beneficiary to it. The way to maximise it is
war. In a large-scale nuclear war, the resulting smoke
through a grand strategy integrated into the system of
and dust can radically alter the climate conditions of the
governance, and national character by the government,
earth.
though. The subject of this workshop—oil spill
management—actually is a humble projection of our
These introductory passages are just to invite your
desire to make a difference in this regard: maximising
attention on the matter of environment security and its
national security and protecting it. In fact, there is more
interactive matrix with other elements of national security,
to it than oil spill management within the chosen title
important among them being military security, economic
of this workshop that this forum is going to contribute. I
security, resource security, and energy security.
am sure we can achieve the desired objects at the end
of it.
For the Indian Coast Guard, marine environment
security is a wholesome concept. It is a statutory function
Environment security is one of the elements of national
defined in the Coast Guard Act, 1978. The Coast Guard
security. The elements are not stand-alone entities; they
identifies marine environment security through four
are mutually inclusive. They are constantly evolving
activities:
variables with terrain specific characteristics.
l Protection of marine environment,
In a living planet, environment means the aggregate
l Preservation of marine environment,
of all-external conditions and influences affecting the life
and development of organisms. In the recent past, attention l Prevention of marine pollution, and
of the world has been focusing on major environmental l Control of marine pollution.
degradation issues like deforestation, acid rain, depletion
of the protective ozone layer, ocean pollution, and global This is termed as the P3C factors of environment
warming among others. The seriousness of these debates security. It is not related to a single activity like climate
for anybody will be understood from the fact that change. It involves any activity that will damage the marine
environmental damage can permeate through national environment. For example, it could be associated with
confines. red tide caused by blooming algae that can asphyxiate
the fish population. It covers a wide range of concerns.
Environmental damage due to war and military
preparations, and using environment as a weapon of war Ocean by itself is a unique terrain. It is multi-
are not strange issues. It has an ancient beginning when dimensional. It has the surface, the ocean layer, the
the Romans destroyed the fields of Carthage by spreading interfacial zones with air and land, and finally the depth—
them with salt. Damages caused in Vietnam during the the large abyss of treasure. It is vital to a maritime nation.
prolonged war, experiments in climate control as a It is the only geographical terrain that provides the
weapon of war during the Cold War period and advantage of wealth and absolute stealth at the same
time. Taking into consideration all the factors that govern The responsibility under the P3C concept is much larger.
the maritime security, I had defined the concept in a It covers total marine environment security. The Coast
research thesis as the all-encompassing complementary Guard needs to develop an edge towards this objective
faction of national security of a maritime nation from in its doctrinal approach to the problem. Technology,
an ocean specific terrain assessment applicable to that especially space applications will be a major contributing
nation. The essence of the ocean to humankind has been factor.
considered widely by a generic term, ocean wealth that India is an active partner in the South Asian Seas
under the concept of geoproperty can be amplified as Programme of the United Nations through which it has
ocean property to include all the variables that contribute been involved in developing a regional contingency plan
to maritime security : for South Asia for combating oil and chemical spills at
l Ocean resources sea. The nodal agency is the Department of Ocean
Development. The Coast Guard is a party to the plan.
l Ocean advantage
Once established, it is expected that there will be bilateral
l Ocean environment, and cooperation between the South Asian maritime states in
l Oceanic islands oil spill response in the area. The Coast Guard needs to
be prepared for it.
It was identified by research. I do not intend to amplify
it further. Ocean property here is the collective term for Indian Coast Guard regularly participates in joint
the interrelated and interactive variables within it. exercises with the Maldivian Coast Guard in which it also
Ocean environment transcending to marine environment tests its joint capabilities in combating oil spill at sea. This
in our reference here is the entity that needs to be is in addition to imparting training to their response
preserved and protected under the P3C principles of personnel on request.
the Coast Guard.
India is also active in the meetings of the Marine
The Coast Guard is the coordinating authority for the
Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the
P C aspects of marine environment security according to
3
International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The nodal
the Act. The marine environment security, therefore, is
agency is the Ministry of Shipping. The Coast Guard is
one of its statutory duties. Since its formal inception in
represented in the Indian delegation. The Coast Guard’s
1978, the Coast Guard has come a long way in marine
draft report presented for information on implementation
environment security, especially in oil spill response
of the Oil Pollution Response and Preparedness Convention
management. But it needs to evolve further and develop
(OPRC) and the OPRC-HNS (hazardous and noxious
its capabilities to envelop the entire P3C aspects. Being
substances) Protocol and Relevant Conference Resolutions
the national coordinator in oil spill response, it has a
annexed to this paper will give more information on the
variety of responsibilities under the National Oil Spill
subject. Besides, the Coast Guard is currently studying
Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP). It is the coordinator
the progress in India on bioremdiation including phyto-
for oil spill response in the entire maritime zones of India
remediation for preparing a report for the next MEPC
with specific allocation for direct response functions in
session. In the MEPC, the Coast Guard is representing
the maritime zones outside the port limits and notified
the Drafting Group for upgrading the IMO manual on oil
areas around offshore oil facilities. This is a dual
spill response and examining the recommendations of
responsibility in which it has to develop its response
France to the IMO on bioremediation. This paper also
capabilities and the prowess for coordination through
contains an annex on the country profile of India in oil
various resource agencies and governmental set up. It is
spill response prepared by the Coast Guard for the
being done through regular coordination, exercise—
International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited
jointly or otherwise, and annual NOS-DCP meetings.
(ITOPF) document. These are in addition to the other areas
Not withstanding response action, it has the additional
of concern for India in the MEPC. They include recycling
task of monitoring and surveillance both surface and
of ships, and control of migration of harmful aquatic
aerial.
organisms through ballast water of ships. Both are subjects Annex 1
of concern for marine environmental security and are
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OPRC CONVENTION
handled separately by the Indian delegation dealing with
AND THE OPRC – HNS PROTOCOL AND
shipping in the MEPC sessions. RELEVANT CONFERENCE RESOLUTION

The marine environment of Indian Ocean is not well IMPLEMENTATION OF OPRC CONVENTION IN INDIA
studied. There are periodic reports of metal and oil – A REPORT
pollution along the Indian Ocean rim, more particularly SUMMARY
in the coastal areas of Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and along
Executive Summary : This document provides
the oil tanker routes in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
information on the activities carried out by India for
Bengal. The spill drift can also be seen around the
the implementation of the provisions of the OPRC
Andaman and Nicobar Islands especially around Port Convention.
Blair, and Campbell Bay and further down. According to Action to be Taken : Para 3
studies, no specific area in Indian Ocean is strictly free
Related documents : Annexure: India – Country
from pollution of some kind. It is a serious matter; pollutants Profile
do not respect national boundaries.
Introduction
The Coast Guard is the national agency for ensuring 1. After the adoption of the OPRC convention by the
marine environment security in India. It involves protection IMO in 1990 with final Act and ten resolutions and
and preservation of the environment and prevention and promulgation of the Convention in 1995, India became
control of pollution. As an Armed Force of the Union it one of the few countries that readily accepted the
has the discipline, determination, and drive for it. It needs Convention. Immediately India started working on its
to develop its capabilities, expertise, and interactive provisions for compliance, and promulgated its national
prowess towards this object. It will be able to do so with a contingency plan on oil spill response.
doctrinal approach well supported by the government. National Contingency Plan
Towards this, I invite this workshop to take note and include
in the resolution for technological, administrative, scientific, 2. The Indian Coast Guard is the national authority under
and legal empowerment of the Coast Guard on priority, the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-
supported by adequate funding and decentralised DCP) for coordination of response to oil spills in Indian
waters. The maritime zones of India is divided into three
authority. Here the emphasis is varied; technology, law,
regions: West, East, and Andaman & Nicobar. These
and funding are the key factors. In a doctrinal approach
regions are further divided into 11 districts. The regional
environment security at the national level should be seen
commanders are responsible for combating oil spills in
separately with marine environment security as part of it. their respective areas of responsibility under the Regional
Evolution of marine environment technology is vital to this Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plans (ROS-DCP). There
doctrine. The doctrinal approach can identify the domains are three-response centres - one in each region -with
through which the goal of environment security can be qualified response personnel and well-stocked inventory
achieved. Oil spill management is complementary to this of response equipment. Oil companies, ports, and oil
goal in such an approach. It is vital to wealth generation platforms are to formulate their own local contingency
and protection in the overall scenario. plans and should be able respond to oils spills with in
their designated areas. The Coast Guard handles oil spills
The Coast Guard has its commitment towards this goal. directly in the rest of the maritime zones. There are various
It needs the support from the government and concerned resource agencies under the NOS-DCP, with which the
agencies, that I am sure this workshop will take note. Coast Guard will co-ordinate in case of an oil spill.
Provisions and Procedures for Combating Oil Spill
Thank you.
3. The NOS-DCP prepared by India contains information
Author may be contacted on E-mail : ppaleri@rediffmail.com regarding oil pollution reporting procedures. It also