‘Clean Sea-2017’, the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise conducted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at sea off Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- The objective of the exercise was to determine the readiness of IGC, resource agencies and other stakeholders in responding to the major oil spill in line with provisions of National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP).
- The exercise was planned to assess the preparations for Response Operations for any such oil pollution incident in highly sensitive area of A&B islands.
- The exercise was conducted in two phases for synchronizing support and cooperation provided by all stakeholders for combating oil spills in such ecologically sensitive areas.
- The exercise saw participation of ICG Pollution Control Vessel and integration of ICG Dornier/Chetak aircraft into Oil Spill Disaster Management System for aerial assessment and delivery of Oil Spill Dispersant for mitigation of spilled oil.
Indian Coast Guard
- It was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India.
- It operates under the Ministry of Defence
- It works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs) and the Central and State police forces.
- Its Motto is वयम् रक्षामः or We Protect
- There are currently 42 Coast Guard stations which have been established along the coastline of the country
