The purpose of the workshop was to evaluate the efficiency of Member States and EMSA network of antipollution equipment and ships to respond to large scale marine pollution incidents.

This workshop is one of the six similar workshops organised in pan- European level that was decided by the Shipping Deputy Minister Mrs. Natassa Pilides and the EMSA Executive Director Mrs. Maya Markovcic Kostelac in March 2019, during the Minister’s visit at EMSA Headquarters in Lisbon.

The theoretical scenarios included incidents involving Offshore installations and Oil Tankers within the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

The “Stress Test” workshop was attended by European Member States (Greece, Croatia, Malta and Slovenia), all companies involved in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons within the Cyprus EEZ, other private companies providing specialized services to offshore operators including antipollution services, and Government Agencies involved in the National Anti-Pollution Contingency Plan such as the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research and the and the Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre (JRCC).

The organisation of such workshops contributes to the further development of the necessary expertise of the Government agencies involved in dealing with pollution incidents and the synergies between Cyprus, EMSA, neighbouring Member States and private entities.