National Oil Spill Contingency Plan of Trinidad and Tobago.

The overall objective of this Plan is the prevention, abatement and combating of oil pollution within the territorial area and the clean-up of oil contaminated areas, in order to protect the environment, human, plant and animal health, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, forests, agriculture, inland water courses, water intakes, groundwater reservoirs as well as other economically relevant facilities and amenities at risk. A coordinated response mechanism will be developed to minimize the detrimental effects of oil spills on marine and terrestrial areas. The surveillance of the country’s territorial waters, including its Exclusive Economic Zone, will be strengthened for the timely detection of oil spills and other related emergencies. Furthermore, timely and effective response mechanism will be developed to spills or the threat of an oil spill. The availability of appropriate equipment and training of human resources will be ensured for efficient response to, and containment, recovery and clean-up of oil spills. Oil and gas operations, including but not limited to, oil, gas, petrochemical, storage and bunkering operations, shall only be carried out within the approval of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs.