The following were words used in an EROCIPS publicity article by Devon County Council in December 2006.

Imagine Devon's beautiful beaches and coves covered with sticky oil, our birds and wildlife smothered, and our fishing and tourism industries seriously struggling. The potential impacts of a shipping incident on the Devon coast and its communities are devastating.

On the 18th January 2007 our worst fears were realised when the 62,000-tonne vessel, MSC Napoli, encountered problems in the English Channel.

Added to normal emergency planning operations Devon County Council has been the Lead Partner of the EROCIPS Project since 2004. The three year Project, funded by the European INTERREG Atlantic Area programme, has brought together national and international organisations with experience of major pollution incidents to share and document best practices.

The focus and knowledge gained through this Project has enabled the Emergency Planning Personnel from Devon and Dorset County Councils to be more prepared and ready to respond to the challenges the Napoli Incident posed. This is especially the case, as the Project covers all three types the pollution (chemical, oil and inert) all of which landed on the beaches of Devon and Dorset.

There are several outputs that have been directly funded by the EROCIPS Project over the last two years that have helped with the response operations to the Napoli Incident.

• A review of booming plans to protect Devon’s sensitive Estuaries has been carried out in association to the EROCIPS Project. These plans were used during the incident.
• Beach survey forms developed by Devon County Council Emergency Planning Services under the Project were utilised on the coastal response in Sidmouth.
• Training opportunities on oil pollution response organised last year by Devon County Council and funded through EROCIPS helped with resilience during the incident.
• Though still in draft format, Waste Management work instigated by the EROCIPS UK Partners was used and proved to be an invaluable source of information and guidance.
• GIS Datasets developed and purchased by the Devon and Dorset County Councils are actively used during the response operations to incident responders.
• A Web based GIS system for accessing information developed by Dorset County Council was used to share the latest data among responders.

The EROCIPS Project outputs have been developed through a strong partnership of scientists and local authorities with expertise in oil spill response and clean up operations. The Project’s aim is that these outputs are fully transferable to other countries and regions at risk of pollution from shipping. Though many of the project outcomes are still under development, the deliverables achieved so far by the Project have been proven worthwhile during the response to the MSC Napoli incident.

For more information on the Napoli Incident see Devon County Council Website. For more details on how EROCIPS Project and its outputs have helped with the response operations call the Project Office on 01392 383875.