GI WACAF conducted its first fully online training on liability and compensation in case of oil spill pollution - 28-30 June 2021

In the context of current and future oil and gas activities off the coast of West Africa and subsequent growing risks of incident in the neighbouring countries, the GI WACAF Project together with international experts from IG P&I Clubs, IOPC Funds and ITOPF have developed an online 3-half day training course allowing 25 delegates from various governmental agencies in The Gambia to gain knowledge on the liability and compensation key issues in case of an oil spill.

Building upon the 2020 remote legal assistance activity provided to the Republic of The Gambia, the training programme has been adapted to consider the specificities of a remote activity: special efforts have been made to provide participants with the most constructive and beneficial training experience possible, including presentations by experts and trainers as well as exercises.

The main objectives of this online workshop were to:

• Train the authorities on the scope and implementation of the IMO Conventions relating to liability and compensation in the event of marine oil pollution, in particular through case studies and exercises (evaluation and settlement procedure, cost calculation, etc.); and
• Train the authorities on the practical aspects of liability and compensation, such as how to raise a claim, and detailing the claim assessment process.

The experience proved to be very interactive, with experts answering many questions and offering quizzes and case studies that were highly appreciated by the audience. The final report will be soon available on the dedicated activity webpage.