Petroleum Industry's Challenge and Future Prospect toOil Spills
Mr. Nobutaka Miyazoe
Managing Director
Petroleum Association of Japan

1. Introduction
I would like to express my gratitude for precious lessons and know-how based on avariety of experiences of the specialists and the persons in charge of disposition of oilpollution, gathering from Europe, Oceania, Middle East and Asia, in an international
symposium on the issue of oil pollution, held for the first time by the Petroleum
Association of Japan (PAJ), last March.
In addition, on that occasion, a number of significant suggestions were presented bythe lecturers who attended last year, on the issues to be considered as themes of future
symposium, as follows:
1)Responsible party of paying for cleanup expenses. Structure of the basis of aninternational compensation scheme.
2)Development of cooperative regional arrangements including training and response
for oil spill, based on the effective OPRC Convention.
3)Consideration of a trans-border mobilization of equipment and expertise.
4)Establishment of cooperative relationship among governments and oil and shipping
industries through joint trainings.
5)Coastline sensitivity mapping for practical and effective response to oil pollution.
Each of the theme above is independently significant enough to be a symposium issue,
and they mostly correspond to the concerns given by the attendants who answered thequestionnaire survey done on the occasion of the last year's symposium.
Today, I, keeping the above in mind, would like to touch upon the achievements of thePetroleum Association of Japan during the past year and the Association's future
prospect. However, I have to say, with considerable recognition of the present situation
concerned, that few of those indicated and suggested last year have been realized, to beneeded consistent efforts.

-1-2. Major Oil Spill Response (OSR) Programme
The Major Oil Spill Response Programme, being implemented from 1990 by PAJ, andsubsidized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), consists of two
activities: one is the stockpiling and lending free of charge of oil spill responseequipment at the request of persons concerned to disasters abroad as well as domestic,
and the other is the research and development (R&D) related to measures against oilspills and responding technology.
(1)Stockpile Bases of OSR Equipment
PAJ currently has 6 stockpile bases in Japan and 4 overseas ones as the stockpile
bases to store oil pollution preventive equipment and to lend the equipment the parties
concerned. In comparison with tile status as of last March, PAJ has added two, one in
Okinawa in Japan and the other in Abu Dhabi for overseas. Moreover, an additionalbase will be established in Indonesia at the end of March 1996. With the fact that thenumber of overseas bases should be five at the end of this March, we will have a further
improved system of bases for major points on the oil route to Japan.
In terms of the stockpile equipment, “Beach Cleaners” (a vacuum cleaner) will beintroduced also to the overseas bases, and the disk type of oil collection equipment will
be introduced to the domestic bases in addition to the conventional dam type, bothscheduled to be the end of March.
As of the end of March, the stockpile status of equipment in the 11 bases, domestic
and overseas, is as follows in the appendix:(2)Lending of OSR Equipment
PAJ lends the equipment in the event of a major oil spill to the parties concerned
including government agencies, at the request of such parties in accordance with theprocedures of Agreement for the Lending of Oil Spill Response Equipment.
Lending of the equipment is specifically implemented to provide additional
equipment to support a primary response operation through supplying such additional
equipment, as a secondary mobilization, upon request when in a major oil spill disasterin which only the equipment owned by companies is not enough for responding theexpansion of damage.
The basic lending conditions are:* Use of equipment is free of charge* The user shall make necessary arrangements for transportation from/to the base,-2-

deployment of the equipment and the like related to the lending, and bear all theexpenses of such arrangements.
* After the use of equipment, the user shall clean, check and repair the equipment at
the user's expenses, confirm the equipment be in good order, and then return theequipment to the base.
* In principle, the equipment shall be returned within three months after the release.
Under these conditions, PAJ, for the first time for overseas, lent the equipment toKorea from Base No. 2 in Japan at the request of British P&I Club, last August. A
detailed explanation for this response process will be delivered by Mr. Joe Nicols ofInternational Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, later. I understand that, throughthis lending, PAJ's system has proved to be effectively functional when in anemergency.
(3)Support and Training to Borrower
In this programme, the borrower basically makes all arrangements such astransportation and use of equipment. PAJ, as supporter to the borrower in the event ofa disaster, designates maintenance contractors of the equipment in the domestic bases,
as cooperative companies. PAJ uses to introduce, using its good offices, these companies,
profoundly familiar with transportation of the equipment and the operation on site,when lending the equipment at the request of the borrower. Actually, in the lending toKorea, the cooperative company implemented the shipment from the base to the ship to
Korea at the request of the borrower.
However, these domestic cooperative companies have all the way to start with theacqusition of passport/visa at present when responding to the request of the owner, toimplement a trans-border lending. In this respect also, PAJ is earnestly searching forany possibility of swift response.
In the domestic bases, so as that the borrower itself could use the equipment for its
own oil spill response operation, PAJ, in cooperation with PAJ 011 Spill CooperativeOrganization (POSCO) (a cooperative organization constituted of 53 companies in total,including the member companies of PAJ and other related companies), has been
holding training courses in each domestic base in turn for the parties concerned ofprospective borrower companies to become proficient in the operation of the equipment.
PAJ thinks it will expand such supporting measures to overseas bases, too.

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(4)Research and Development Plan
For the purpose, when occurring a major oil spill, of responding properly to thechange of the properties of oil after the spill or the change in the whether and maritime
condition, to prevent effectively the expansion of such disaster, it is indispensable,
apart from obtaining the latest scientific knowledge on the behaviour, the situationalchange from time to time and responding technologies after the spill, to enhance someresearch and development in the oil spill response area, eventually utilizing the resultsin the establishment of the optimum response system. With this intention in mind, PAJ
has conducted an experiment on the Change of the properties of oil in accordance withtime elapse from last year on. In addition, PAJ has developed an open-sea model
surrounding Japan for the Simulation model on diffusion-drift of spilt oils, other than
the investigations on the Self-cleanup mechanism of ocean for spilt oils and thePossibility of safety navigation support system for tankers. Furthermore, PAJ has
newly started to investigate the necessity of the Emergency measure support vehicle.

3. Future Issues
PAJ will steadily continue the fulfilment of oil response equipment and theinvestigations and researches that support it, both being the basis of the Major Oil Spill
Response Programme.
However, in terms of a system to utilize PAJ's equipment, arranged as shown above,it is proposed for each member country of OPRC Convention to make the treaty
effective to prepare contingency plans, other than implementing training for a major oil
spill disaster, promoting an international cooperation scheme and concluding
substantial cooperation treaties among the member countries. For IMO, thisorganization is expected to play a new role in technological cooperation and provision ofusual information. With a trend of increased attention toward the establishment of aninternational compensation system for oil response expenses, in relation to the above
mentioned, since PAJ believes that, without any dynamism to keep exchanging
opinions and to try to create a better system, the whole system surrounding oil response
could remain insufficient and improper, it must be essential for PAJ and the relatedbodies to continue every kind of ceaseless efforts in this respect.

-4-4. Conclusions
In this symposium, based on the above referred concept, such themes as the becoming
effective of OPRC Convention, expected role for IMO and future role of IOPC FUND, allbeing concerned with a new international framework, were discussed. Also, someinteresting reports from relevant field are presented. They are:1)Review on the response to the SEA PRINCE incident in Korea, where PAJ for thefirst time lent the equipment across the sea.
2)Problems accompanied with trans-border mobilization of the equipment on which
EARL has accumulated through their business operations and its solutions.
3)Know-how extructed from experiences of oil response training, being implemented in
preparation for an emergencies, and brush up of capability of human resources,
mainly among national petroleum companies in the region.
PAJ thinks that, through exchanging information, an effective and influential
international cooperation for a major oil spill disaster would be improved, though
gradually, and this would eventually lead to further better utilization of PAJ's oil
response stockpile equipment bases.
Furthermore, we will have a briefing of the National Contingency Plan, to be thebasis of Japan's national response which reflected to new framework, by a responsible
official of the Maritime Safety Agency.
As for PAJ's investigation and research programmes, an interim report of theResearch on self-cleanup mechanism of ocean and an introductory demonstration of amodel for a closed sea area of the Spill-drift prediction model of spilt oils are scheduled
to be presented.
Holding a joint closed session with the parties concerned in charge management andthe maintenance contractors of PAJ's 10 overseas and domestic stockpile equipment
bases, PAJ would like to exchange frank and candid opinions in relation to troubles
caused along with maintenance and management of the equipment and theirpreventive measures, know-how of operating the equipment, safety measures andlogistics when in emergency mobilization, and training and man-power exchange, toacquire useful knowledge in preparation for emergency situations. The results obtainedin the closed session will be compiled later.

-5-Finally, PAJ, as organizer of this symposium, recognizes this occasion has provided aopportunity of positive discussions among the lecturers, the participants and the baserelated persons. It will be an unexpected delight for PAJ to contribute, even thoughinsufficient, to the creation of a new situation that through this symposium theattendants could enhance mutual understanding of each other and construct a usefuland effective cooperative system to prepare for emergencies.
If each one of you judges this attempt by PAJ has been successful, PAJ then also
intends to make a contribution in creating in near future occasions of thoroughdiscussions by experts on every important and substantial theme as described in thebeginning, to search for some proper directions.
Finally, and again I would like to expect active exchange of opinions by all of you whohave participated in this symposium on oil pollution.

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