Mumbai: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) executed the regional level pollution response exercise (RPREX-2025) off the coast of Mumbai on Friday, in a major push to fortify India’s maritime environmental defenses.
ICG Launches Regional Pollution Response Exercise Amid Rising Maritime Trade Risks
The exercise comes at a critical time as maritime trade in the Indian Ocean continues to surge, bringing with it an increased risk of catastrophic oil spills. As the designated central coordinating authority for marine pollution, the ICG designed RPREX-25 to ensure that if a disaster strikes, the response is swift, unified, and effective.
The exercise was a multi-agency operation emphasising a collective responsibility model and recognizing that oil spills become significantly more difficult and expensive to manage once they reach the shoreline. A standout feature of RPREX-2025 was the involvement of commercial and state partners.
.jpeg)
The operation followed a two-phase approach where an initial planning conference on December 18 featured technical lectures and a tabletop exercise to coordinate strategy. In the second phase on Friday, a full-scale live sea exercise was carried out to test hardware, personnel, and communication in real-time.
High-Stakes Simulation Tests Rapid Response to Major Oil Spill
The drill was sparked by a high-stakes simulation which included a distress call from a motor tanker vessel. In the hypothetical scenario, the tanker had collided with a fishing boat, resulting in a significant hull breach and a heavy discharge of crude oil into the Arabian Sea. In an immediate response, the ICG deployed a specialised pollution control vessel (PCV) along with two additional ships configured for pollution response. These vessels utilised advanced skimming and containment equipment to simulate the recovery of the spill.
Major entities including ONGC and the Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) deployed their own oil spill response (OSR) vessels to work alongside the ICG. The exercise also bridged the gap between sea and shore by involving the forest department’s mangrove cell, which worked on coastal protection strategies, the coastal police and the fisheries department which ensured that local livelihoods and security were integrated into the response plan and representatives from JSW Port, Angre Port, and various oil handling agencies participated to validate their own internal contingency plans.
"Given the vast coastline of India, coordination and involvement of all stakeholders is an inescapable requirement to effectively fight oil pollution at sea," the ICG stated, noting that the exercise successfully validated the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP).
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
