PCG, India conduct maritime oil spill exercise

MANILA, Philippines — A four-day maritime pollution exercise to enhance cooperation on future oil spill incidents began yesterday.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are participating in the exercise that ends on March 28.

The ICG’s second pollution control vessel Samura Pahererar arrived yesterday at the Port Area in Manila.

The vessel is uniquely designed for containing, recovering and dispersing oil spills. It would transport recovered oil for further disposal.

The ICG’s visit was a result of a memorandum signed last year to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to PCG deputy chief of coast guard staff for international affairs Commodore Algier Ricafrente.

Part of it was building cooperation on environmental protection, maritime enforcement, maritime security, maritime search and rescue and capacity-building activities.