MOL Holds Table Top Drill to Test Tanker Spill Response Readiness

August 05, 2008

TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Akimitsu Ashida) in July 31 held a table top drill based on the scenario of a major oil spill in Japan. MOL conducts such drills regularly to review and sharpen its readiness to respond to a serious marine incident.

The three-hour exercise was aimed at ensuring smooth, accurate communication in case of an incident resulting in an oil leak. Maintaining the highest standards of safety and environmental protection is key to reinforcing MOL's social responsibility structure, as set out in the MOL Group Corporate Principles.

The event involved about 70 participants from inside and outside the company, including:

• Tokyo Head Office: Hidehiro Harada, General Manager of Safe Operations Headquarters (Executive Vice President), Soichi Hiratsuka, Deputy General Manager of Safety Operations Headquarters (Member of the Board, Managing Executive Officer), Masaaki Nemoto (Executive Officer);Tanker Division, Marine Safety Division, Technical Division, Corporate Planning Division, General Affairs Division, Public Relations Office
• Ship management company: MOL Tankship Management Ltd. President Jun Waki
• Branch office: General Manager of Yokohama Branch
• External organizations: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Tourism, Japan Coast Guard, Japanese Shipowners' Association, etc.

The drill scenario assumed that a ship had collided with a crude oil tanker while it was discharging cargo at a berth in Japan, breaching the hull and causing an oil leak. Participants started by receiving an initial incident report from the tanker, and then worked through the steps of creating an emergency marine accident task force, gathering information from concerned parties, confirming communication procedures, reporting to external concerned parties, arranging for cleanup operations, and training to respond to the media.

The drill confirmed the effectiveness of the communication structure linking various MOL Group offices. MOL has implemented table top drills based on a range of different scenarios since 1993. This drill focused mainly on the establishment of a communication and liaison structure in Japan. The company will continue working to improve its group-wide emergency task force system with different types of vessels, sharing know how accumulated in the drills.