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Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65

International Oil Spill Response Technical Seminar

Preliminary Study on Marine Oil Spill Contingency Plan

System in China
Ning Maoa, Zhongdai Wanga,*
a
Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, Building 2,6A Shuguangxili,
Chaoyang District,Beijing, 100028,China

Abstract

Incomplete system framework, out-dated contents and poor operability are prominent problems existing in the current marine oil
spill contingency plan system of China. In order to solve these problems, this paper put forward the three-level marine oil spill
contingency plan system, which is formed by the national, local government and enterprise marine oil spill contingency plans.
The three-level plans have their own focuses. The national contingency plan focuses on constructing an orderly and efficient
emergency command system according to the national laws and regulations, and conducting cross-regional coordination of
emergency resources. The local government contingency plan puts emphasis on constructing the graded emergency response
system, coordinating the emergency resources within the local area and making the normative emergency disposal procedures.
The enterprise contingency plan is the specific disposal procedures prepared by the oil spill high risk areas or enterprises in order
to response to marine oil spill accidents, with more clear responsibilities and stronger operability.

©
© 2015
2014 Published by Elsevier
The Authors. B.V.byThis
Published is an open
Elsevier B.V.access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of International Oil Spill Response Technical Seminar.
Peer-review under responsibility of China Offshore Environmental Services Ltd
Keywords:marine, oil spill, contingency plan system

1. Introduction

Contingency plan is a descriptive file of crisis prevention and control system and its operation mechanism, and is
the fundamental basis for emergency disposal (YingjunXie et al., 2010). In recent years, severe marine oil spill

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-10-59629464; fax: +86-10-59629450.

E-mail address:wangzd@tpri.gov.cn

2214-241X © 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of China Offshore Environmental Services Ltd
doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.228
60 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65

accidents have become more frequently in China and caused serious damage to the marine environment. In order to
further improve the emergency disposal mechanism for marine oil spill accidents and regulate the emergency
response procedures, the marine oil spill contingency plans system is being prepared and perfected (Kun Liu, 2013).
The Ministry of Transport is taking the lead to establish the National Emergency Disposal Plan for Severe Marine
Oil Spill. Emergency disposal plans of China's coastal provinces are being prepared as well. But currently there are
still such problems as incomplete plan system, poor operability and ineffective connection between plans. Under the
framework of China's contingency plan system, this paper proposes a three-level marine oil spill contingency plan
system which is suitable for China, and makes suggestions on contents of plans at each level.

2. Contingency plan system of China

According to the Comprehensive Contingency plan for National Public Emergency, China's contingency plan
system is composed by comprehensive plan, special plan, department plan, regional plan, grass root plan and large-
scale activity plan. All such plans are directly related to marine oil spill disposal except the large-scale activity plan.
The major functions of contingency plans mentioned above are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Major Functions of China's Contingency Plans

Plan Type Major Functions of Plan

It is a comprehensivecontingency plan and applicable to the response work for severe sudden public incidents which
Comprehensive plan need to deploy emergency resources cross provinces or are beyond the disposal capacity of the provincial people's
government where the accident occur, or require the State Council to be responsible for incidents disposal.
It is a coordination plan and mainly refers to the emergency response plan prepared by the State Council and relevant
departments to response to one or more types of sudden public incidents. It refers to the schemes, plans and measures
Special plan
which are made to response to one or more types of sudden public incidents and involve with responsibilities of
several relevant departments under the State Council.
It is a specialized plan which is made according to the comprehensive plan and the responsibilities of the department
Department plan under the State Council. It mainly refers to the emergency response plan for sudden public incidents which are
disposed mainly by one department of the State Council and coordinated by other relevant units.
It refers to the comprehensive plans of local areas (province/city/county level etc.). It is the normative procedures
Regional plan
made based on the comprehensive contingency plan in order to response to sudden public incidents in the local area.
It is a foundational plan, and refers to work plans, support plans and working rules made by large-scale enterprises,
Grass root plan
public institutions or high-risk industries units in order to response to emergencies.

Based on the position of the above plans defined in the Comprehensive Contingency plan for National Public
Emergency, the department plan shall be a lower plan level under the special plan. But currently in China, it is the
fact that the contingency plan system has begun to take shape prior to the Emergency Response Law of China and
Comprehensive Contingency plan for National Public Emergency, and therefore, it causes that the special plan and
department plan are in parallel plan level. The illogicality between the two types of plans is adverse to the
management of the contingency plan system and the improvement of emergency efficiency (Haibo Zhang, 2013).
The current contingency plan system framework in China is shown in Fig.1.
 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65 61

Fig.1. The current contingency plan system framework in China

3. Relevant contingency plan system for marine oil spill in China

The risk sources of marine oil spill are relatively complex, and mainly involve ships, land oil spill sources,
offshore oil exploration and development, and submarine oil pipelines (Bing Qiao. Et al., 2002). Relevant
administrative departments of the above industries have prepared marine oil spill contingency plans according to
their own industry characteristics in order to response to the marine oil spill (Hui Lao et al., 2009). The existing
contingency plans relevant to marine oil spill in China are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Existing contingency plans relevant to marine oil spill in China

Plan Type Plan Name Preparation Unit Release Time
National Emergency Disposal Plan for
The State Council Under Preparation
Severe Marine Oil Spill
National Special Plan
National Emergency Response Plan for
The State Council 2006
Environmental Emergencies
Emergency Response Plan for Oil Spill
Accidents in Offshore Oil Exploration and State Oceanic Administration 2008
Development
Emergency Response Plan for Accidents of State Administration of Work
2006
Offshore Oil and Gas Operation Safety
Emergency Response Plan for Accidents of
State Administration of Work
National Onshore Oil and Gas Storage & 2006
Safety
Transportation
Department Plan
Emergency Response Plan for Accidents of State Administration of Work
2006
Onshore Oil and Gas Exploration Safety
Emergency Response Plan for Fishery
Ministry of Agriculture 2005
Vessel Aquatic Safety Emergencies
Emergency Response Plan for Ship Oil Spill
Ministry of Transport 2000
at Sea in China
Regional Plan Province Level Emergency Disposal Plan for Provincial Government --
62 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65

Plan Type Plan Name Preparation Unit Release Time

Marine Oil Spill
Province/City/County Level Emergency Province/City/County
--
Response Plan for Ship Pollution at Sea Government
Emergency Disposal Plan for Oil Spill of Large-scale Oil Enterprises and
Grass Root Plan --
Large-scale Oil Enterprises and Institutions Institutions

As can be seen from the Table, the national and regional oil spill contingency plans are generally divided by
industry; the enterprise level oil spill contingency plan systems are relatively complex and are also divided into
different levels according to the requirements of industry management and the characteristics of enterprises. For
large-scale enterprises and institutions such as CNOOC and CNPC, the oil spill contingency plans are generally
divided into three levels: corporation level, oil company level and drilling platform level. Other enterprises such as
the ports and shipping companies, the oil spill contingency plans are also generally divided into the corporation oil
spill contingency plan and on-site emergency disposal plan, etc. (Li Zhu et al., 2009).

4. Existing problems in current oil spill contingency plan system

Through analysis of the current marine oil spill contingency plan system in China, we can see that it mainly has
the following problems in four aspects:

4.1. Imperfect Special Plan System for Marine Oil Spill.

The National Emergency Disposal Plan for Severe Marine Oil Spill is not released yet, so that the marine oil spill
emergency disposal work lacks the guidance of national special plans. Therefore at present, China can only conduct
offshore oil spill emergency response by referring to the National Emergency Response Plan for Environmental
Emergencies. Furthermore, the regional special plan system is very imperfect. Among all the coastal provinces, only
Shandong Province has prepared the special plan especially for the marine oil spill accidents.

4.2. Lack of Department Plan for Onshore Oil Spill.

At present, China has no national or regional department plan for the offshore oil spill accidents caused by the
onshore oil spill sources. Among the current department plans such as the Emergency Response Plan for Accidents
of Onshore Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation and Emergency Response Plan for Accidents of Onshore Oil
and Gas Exploration, there is no special explanation on the emergency response work for control the onshore source
oil spill from entering into the sea.

4.3. Contingency Plan Need to be Updated and Improved Urgently.

At present, most of China's national contingency plans for marine oil spill were prepared prior to the year of 2008.
Therefore, under the current situation, part of the plan contents cannot meet the requirements of marine oil spill
disposal work. For example, the inefficient emergency response work to Dalian Oil Spill Accident (2010) and
Penglai “19-3” Platform Oil Spill Accident (2011) exposed some problems existing in the emergency response
organization and disposal procedures, which are the important contents of the contingency plans. Therefore, the
implementation effect of marine oil spill plan needed to be assessed as soon as possible, and the content of plan
needed to be updated and improved urgently.

4.4. Obvious Homogenization and Poor Operability of Grass Root Plans.

It is quite common that the grass root governments and relevant departments simply imitate the superior level
plans during the preparation of oil spill contingency plans, so that the unique characteristics of the region and
industry are not clearly reflected in the plan (Biao Shi, 2012). In addition, grass root contingency plans are short of
 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65 63

corresponding crisis situation settings and the relative emergency disposal procedure descriptions for the probable
situations during the oil spill emergency response process. It is due to lack of comprehensive analysis of
characteristics of the local area as well as systematic evaluation of oil spill risks, which causes that the plan contents
are alienated from reality and the operability of the plan is poor.

5. Suggestion on contents of marine oil spill contingency plan

In view of such problems as incomplete marine oil spill contingency plan system in China, unclear logical
relation between plans at different levels, and poor plan operability, this paper proposes a marine oil spill
contingency plan system framework suitable for China, and makes suggestions on key content of plans at different
levels.

5.1. Suggestion on plan system framework of marine oil spill

The emergency response work for marine oil spill is characterized by strong comprehensiveness and high
timeliness requirements. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of instruction transmission and
implementation, so as to achieve rapid, efficient and coordinated operation between contingency plans at different
levels, we shall conduct flat management for marine oil contingency plans, and reduce the levels of contingency
plans as far as possible (Chunchang Zhang, 2013). Under the overall framework of contingency plans in China
which is defined in the Comprehensive Contingency plan for National Public Emergency, it is recommended to
divide the marine oil spill contingency plan system into three levels: national level, local government level and
enterprise level, and gradually optimize the internal structure of contingency plans through plan preparation and
update work and eventually realize the ideal plan system framework that there is only special plan under the
comprehensive plan, and only department plan under the special plan, so as to fundamentally solve the problems
that the special plan and department plan are parallel in level and have a confused logical relation.

Fig.2. Suggestion on plan system framework of marine oil spill

5.2. Suggestion on Contents of National Plan Level

In China's emergency response plan system for emergencies, the special plan is positioned as a coordination plan.
As a national special plan, the National Emergency Disposal Plan for Severe Marine Oil Spill mainly has the
function of planning and coordinating emergency response forces of relevant provinces and departments to deal with
the severe marine oil spill accident together. In terms of contents, it shall focus on specifying the emergency
organization and command system for severe marine oil spill as well as responsibilities and labor division of
64 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65

relevant units; specifying the responsibilities of the central and local government in the emergency disposal work;
specifying the labor division of relevant departments in the emergency security work, so as to ensure that the
emergency resources are allocated effectively and the emergency work is implemented rapidly.

In addition, in terms of grading standards for marine oil spill accidents, the national special plan can only define
the standard of the “severe marine oil spill accident” and doesn't have to conduct classification of the accidents
higher than the “severe marine oil spill accident” level, because that currently, the accidents higher than the "severe
marine oil spill accident" level are all commanded uniformly by "Inter-ministerial Joint Conference for Severe
Marine Oil Spill Emergency Disposal". In other words, "severe marine oil spill accident" and higher level accidents
are basically the same in responsible subjects, disposal procedures, command methods and emergency security, etc.
Therefore, the national special plan doesn't have to define the grading standard of the marine oil spill accidents
higher than the “severe marine oil spill accident” level.

At present, relevant departments of the State Council are preparing national department plans applicable to
marine oil spill emergency for each industry. The national department plan is positioned as the specialized plan, and
shall fully reflect the industry unique characteristics of emergency disposal for marine oil spill. In terms of contents,
each department plan shall specify the grading standards for marine oil spill accidents, further refine the disposal
method and procedures of emergency disposal work for marine oil spill accidents at different levels, specify the
emergency disposal measures under all the possible situations, and specify the oil spill emergency resources which
can be coordinated within the industry.

5.3. Suggestion on Contents of Local Government Plan Level

The local government plan refers to the emergency response plans for marine oil spill at province and city levels.
The local government plan shall be effectively connected with the plans at superior level on the one hand, and fully
reflect the unique characteristics of oil spill emergency work in local areas on the other hand. The local government
plan shall be prepared based on the systematic evaluation of oil spill risks and eco-environmental vulnerability of
the area. In terms of contents, the local government plan can refer to the national plan, but shall specify the grading
standards for marine oil spill accidents of the local area. The disposal method, procedures and safeguard measures of
the emergency disposal work in the plan shall be more targeted and operable. Meanwhile, the local government plan
shall give a detailed description of the emergency resources for marine oil spill which can be coordinated within the
local and surrounding areas, make a comprehensive evaluation on the constitution and distribution of the local
emergency capabilities, and report it to the superior contingency plan management department so as to ensure the
local government plan is effectively connected with the superior plans.

5.4. Suggestions on Contents of Enterprise Plan Level

The enterprise plan is the most foundational emergency response plan prepared by oil spill high risk areas,
relevant enterprises and institutions to deal with the offshore oil spill accidents. It is the most detailed specification
of on-site emergency disposal plan and operation procedures for marine oil spill. Because the enterprise contingency
plan directly guides the emergency disposal actions for marine oil spill, it must have the highest practicability and
operability. Before being prepared, the enterprise plan shall also conduct systematic analysis of the oil spill risks and
eco-environmental vulnerability of the surrounding areas. In terms of contents, the enterprise plan can refer to the
local government plan, but shall further strengthen the prevention and early warning for marine oil spill, and specify
the information report procedure after the oil spill accidents occur. The labor division of the emergency disposal
work shall be more specific, responsibilities of the emergency disposal work shall be divided into the specific person,
and the emergency response measures at each step shall be refined to the actual operation level. The enterprise plan
shall also give a detailed description of the allocation and maintenance of emergency resources within the enterprise,
and formulate specific emergency command and operation plans in combination of the possible oil spill
circumstances. The enterprise disposal plan shall be reported to relevant competent industrial departments for the
record, and place stress on daily drilling and timely revision, so as to improve its practicability and operability.
 Ning Mao and Zhongdai Wang / Aquatic Procedia 3 (2015) 59 – 65 65

6. Conclusion

The marine oil spill contingency plan is an important component of the comprehensive emergency disposal
capability for marine oil spill, and an important basis for carrying out the emergency disposal work for marine oil
spill. The marine oil spill contingency plan system in China is in the stage of continuous development and
improvement. This paper put forward a marine oil spill contingency plan system composed by three level plans of
national plan, local government plan and enterprise plan for such problems as incomplete system framework, out-
dated contents, poor operability, lack of effective connection between the plans. The three level plans have their own
focuses and are well connected in contents. The national plan focuses on conducting cross-regional coordination of
emergency resources, and providing emergency security; the local government plan puts emphasis on making
response to marine oil spill by accident level, and formulating the disposal measures according to the unique
characteristics of the local regions; the enterprise disposal plan shall focus on more specific responsibility division,
more detailed emergency situation setting and stronger operability. The three level emergency response plans shall
mutually coordinate and link with each other so as to ensure that the emergency work for marine oil spill in China is
conducted rapidly and efficiently.

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