Protecting Safe and Open Seas - Sri Lanka Coast Guard trains instructors for oil spill response in collaboration with Japan Coast Guard and JICA

From 5th to 22nd February 2024, a team of five Japanese experts of Japan Coast Guard (JCG) comprising two officials from their Mobile Cooperation Team who are specialized in capacity development, two officers from National Strike Team Station in Yokohama who are in charge of oil spill management in a coastal area in Japan, and one officer from Marine Environment Protection & Disaster prevention Division of JCG, was dispatched to Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) to conduct the oil spill response training.

JCG and SLCG had the onshore training in Kirinda from 6th to 12th February, and offshore training in Dikovita from 14th to 21st. In the final part of the training, SLCG patrol vessel 501 and 502, which is provided through JICA Grant Assistance in 2018, were used to conduct a comprehensive drill simulating an oil spill incident, utilizing oil fences and other equipment.
Total thirty-seven SLCG officers completed this program. Since the inception of this series of technical cooperation by JICA in 2014, more than 200 SLCG officers have joined the training program held by JCG and JICA.

The establishment of a sustainable human resource development system to address oil spill incident in SLCG is an important initiative for Sri Lanka and Indo-Pacific region.
JICA will be continuously committed to protecting the safety of vessel navigation in the Indo-Pacific through the technical cooperation for SLCG in collaboration with JCG.