New Zealand oil spill response strategy - Maritime New Zealand

Zealand considers that the case is insufficient and recommends no further action to be taken, the
regional council is still within its rights to pursue the spiller through the courts. However, if ultimately
unsuccessful, any costs associated with the failed prosecution will not be recoverable from the OPF,
and will be borne by the regional council.
To assist regional councils, the National Plan contains various recommendations on the prosecution
process, and more comprehensive guidelines can be found in the Maritime New Zealand publication -
Oil Spill Preparedness and Response, Guidelines for Regional Councils: Prosecution and Cost
Recovery. 66
In certain circumstances the Minister of Conservation or Department of Conservation may also be able
to prosecute (relevant legislation detailed in Appendix 5). Such action would be taken in consultation
with Maritime New Zealand.
International Response Arrangements
A major spill in New Zealand waters will almost certainly require international assistance and cooperation.
New Zealand may also be asked to assist other countries if they suffer a similar event.
This reciprocal commitment will be reflected by whatever mutual aid agreements and memoranda of
understanding are deemed appropriate, as well as by the international conventions to which New
Zealand is a party (see Appendix 6).
Assistance should be provided to other nations in accordance with these formal arrangements, and
unless previous agreements exist, may be initiated through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Director will consider requests for assistance outside New Zealand on a case-by-case basis,
bearing in mind the requirement to maintain New Zealand’s response capability.
New Zealand’s primary alliance is with Australia, through the MoU with the Australian Maritime Safety
Authority, that provides for co-operation with exercises, training, response equipment and expertise.
New Zealand is also a member of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, with regional
obligations to Pacific Island nations under the Pacific Ocean Pollution Prevention Programme
(PACPOL).
Agreements with agencies and organisations in other countries are in some cases quite informal. Such
agreements are progressively being reviewed and renewed on a more formal basis in order to provide
a greater degree of certainty and commitment.
Communication
Maritime New Zealand recognises the importance of effective strategic communications during
contingency planning and response. OSCs will be expected to seek specialist advice and support
from their own communications teams or from Maritime New Zealand staff.
Media interest during an oil spill response will be intense and therefore must be managed, rather than
dealt with on an ad hoc basis. Representatives of the local community are likely to be involved in an
advisory and consultative role during a response so it is expected that Maritime New Zealand will liaise
closely with local government in identifying community leaders and the processes by which they will be
kept fully informed.
The partnership approach that underpins other areas of the response strategy also applies to media
and community relations. During a Tier 3 response, the media and community relations team will be
staffed by local government personnel from the affected area and possibly from outside the local
area.
Information Management
Maritime New Zealand has established and will continue to maintain a national marine oil spill database.
All reported marine oil spill incidents (or suspected incidents) will be recorded on this database using
information provided by regional councils and other reporting agencies.
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Available on request from Maritime New Zealand.
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