RLC Consult participated in the preparation and delivery of the full scale exercise MASEPOLREX25 organised in Mombasa, Kenya on 7-11 July 2025 in collaboration with Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).
Objectives
The exercise was organized under the framework of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) OPRC 90 Convention, the Nairobi Convention’s Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Marine Pollution in Cases of Emergency in the Eastern African Region and the draft Regional Contingency Plan for preparedness and response to major marine pollution incidents in the Western Indian Ocean region.
Inasmuch as regional cooperation mechanisms are dependent on effective national response systems, the overall objectives for the FTX were two-fold:
- To exercise the Kenyan national response system to marine oil pollution through the activation of the national oil spill contingency plan and the mobilisation of national response resources.
- To exercise regional/international cooperation mechanisms through the activation of the draft Regional Contingency Plan and mutual assistance mechanisms.
Scenario
The spill scenario was based on a collision of a Handymax oil tanker MT NAVIGATOR, and a feeder ship MV TRANSPORTER leading to severe structural damage of the tanker and resulting in a significant spill of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO 180) (initially 3-4,000m3) and requiring salvage and oil spill response operations.
IFO 180 was selected based on the typical oil types transported in this area (in accordance with the findings of the MASE report, 2024). IFO 180 is a blend of heavy residual fuel oil with enough ligher distillate to lower the viscosity to 180 cSt at 50 °C. This product is persistent in the environment, with limited chemical dispersibility.
The incident was set to occur in Tanzanian waters with the vessels and oil slicks rapidly drifting into Kenyan waters due to the prevailing winds and currents. Besides the spill of IFO 180, no other products were spilled.
The exercise started on Tuesday 08/07 with an initial (real) alert call at 07:00 am (UTC+3) from the role player playing the captain of MT NAVIGATOR to the Tanzania MRCC (located in Dar Es Salam). Following initial communications between Tanzania MRCC and authorities with Kenya RMRCC and authorities, and the activation of the Kenya Marine National Contingency Plan (NCP), the Kenya National IMT was mobilised (KMA tower, 4th floor, Mombasa) and the initial IMT briefing was held at 9:00 am.
This scenario was designed to trigger offshore and shoreline response operations rapidly and in Kenya only initially. Spill modelling indicated the remaining oil slick was expected to reach Somalia waters within 4 to 8 days.
Salvage aspects
The scenario included a request from the salvage company (mandated by the owner of the tanker ship) to Kenya Port Authority to mobilize their emergency towage vessel MWOKOZI II and to use the Port of Mombasa as a Place of Refuge.
During the ships’ distress, the two captains of the vessels sent notifications to the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Dar es Salaam Tanzania about the incident.
The RMRCC Mombasa sent a team of experts for the assessment to plan for rescue operation. Vessel agent Seaforth communicated with Kenya Ports Authority Harbour Master for towage assistance.
The Harbour Master through the port managing director agreed to assist in towage operation by sending two tugs MWOKOZI II and Duma, experts and special equipment needed for the operation.
The vessel was safely towed to the port harbour and was surrounded with 400 m of a heavy-duty oil containment boom.
The marine engineer’s repairs vessel and she sailed out to the owner safe and sound.
MASE Study Report (2024)
MASEPOLREX 2025 was organized following the Regional Forum on Regional Cooperation in the Case Major Marine Pollution Incidents, organized in Mauritius from 16 to 18 September 2024 where the MASE Study Report (2024) for the formulation of a global framework for cooperation for accessing the necessary equipment including private industry to government for preparedness and response to major marine pollution in the Western Indian Ocean.” was presented to regional stakeholders.
The findings of the report and the discussions during the Forum were used as a basis for the development of the framework document and for the preparation of MASEPOLREX 2025.
[1] Project Reference: COI/MASE/AO/2023/065. Setting up of a regional mechanism for collecting, processing and managing information, development of operational procedures, implementation of methodology for maritime data analysis processes relating to maritime incidents, equipment for marine pollution and the feasibility of the establishment of a regional depot.
Update of the Regional Contingency Plan
The region is finalizing a Regional Contingency Plan (RCP) for cooperation and assistance in case of spill, within the framework of the Nairobi Convention’s Emergency Protocol.
This FTX was integrated into this finalization process, allowing the testing of procedures in the draft RCP including the processes for an affected country to alert and request assistance from other countries and receive offers.
The key findings in the regional context from this FTX and working groups will inform the finalisation of the RCP and its submission to the next meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention (scheduled in 2026).
Engagement with key international partners
The reaching out and integration of key international and regional stakeholders was led by the IOC consultants under the supervision of the ECG. These partners were selected based on their domain of activity, their involvement in previous regional activities (i.e. to ensure continuity with previous activities) and the needs of the exercise scenario (vessel collision involving an oil tanker). They included:
- IMO: International Maritime Organization. United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping
- UNEP-OCHA JEU: Joint Environment Unit of the UN Environment and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (JEU). Responds to environmental emergencies
- IOPC Funds: intergovernmental organisations (the 1992 Fund and the Supplementary Fund) which provide compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers.
- ITOPF: not-for-profit organization providing a wide range of technical services to back up our core role of responding to ship-sourced spills
- OSRL: global oil & gas industry cooperative for oil spill preparedness and response
- SAMSA : South African Maritime Safety Authority. Ensures safety of life and property at sea; prevents and combat pollution from ships in the marine environment; and promote the RSA’s maritime interests.
- GI WACAF : The Global Initiative for Wester, Central and Southern Africa. Partnership between the IMO and IPIECA to enhance the capacity of partner countries to prepare for and respond to marine oil spills
- JNCC: Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation
- Cefas : Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science, is an Executive Agency of Defra (the UK Government’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Ensures a sustainable future for rivers, seas and the ocean.
- SMIT Salvage Africa: emergency response, salvage, wreck removal and environmental care services across the globe. SMIT Africa responds 24/7 in the region from Cape Town, RSA.
- Cedre : Centre de documentation, de recherche et d'expérimentations sur les pollutions accidentelles des eaux
- Seaforth: Shipping agent in East Africa. Mandated by the shipowner to handle operational and procedural (legal) requirements during marine pollution incidents.
- GI WACAF: a long-standing cooperative effort between IMO and Ipieca (an international oil industry association) to support development of oil spill preparedness in West, Central and Southern Africa.
Individual meetings were organised and facilitated by IOC consultants with these partners to secure their participation (remotely and/or in-country) and discuss their respective role during the preparation and delivery of the exercise.
In addition, group meetings (i.e. with all partners together) were organised throughout the preparation of the exercise to ensure a common understanding of the rolling-out of the exercise and discuss the allocation and the role of the facilitators (and evaluators) at the different exercise locations.
Engagement with Kenya national stakeholders
In order to ensure the effective identification of resource needs by Kenya, and the effective mobilisation of this assistance, significant effort was put into the setting-up of an effective national response system.
A national stakeholder’s MASEPOLREX preparation Committee was established, led by KMA and involving all key national entities involved in marine oil spill preparedness and response activities. This Committee prepared for the mobilisation of local and national equipment and personnel; it also reviewed roles and responsibilities to be performed during the exercise.
Reports of these consultations were provided by KMA during the bi-weekly ECG progress meetings and the IOC consultants also developed various support material for Kenya Authorities to facilitate their preparation of the exercise, including:
- National response organisation (based on the provisions of the marine National Contingency Plan (NCP)
- National IMT structure & designated positions
- Map of operations planned at sea and on shore
- List of resources engaged on the field
- Tactical deployment plan for offshore and shoreline operations
- Guidelines for the logistical arrangements of the National IMT
- Action checklist for the various sections of the National IMT
- Preparation of forms, checklists, supporting documentation for the National IMT etc.
Capacity building activities
In addition to preparatory meetings, the following capacity building activities were organized throughout the preparation of the FTX to ensure that personnel and entities would be comfortable with their role during the exercise:
- 25-29/11/2024 - Kenya Marine Emergency Oil Spill Response Training Workshop & Drill, Mombasa attended by IOC consultants (Consultants report is provided in the appendices)
- 05/03/2025 - bi-lateral meeting hosted by the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC, Dar es Salaam) to discuss the scenario and bilateral cooperation. The meeting included TASAC delegates, KMA delegates and an IOC consultant.
- 19/05/2025 - Training session organised by ITOPF to train regional participants (including KMA, RMIFC and RCOC) to the NOAA web application for the modelling of drift and behaviour of marine oil spills (the ‘WebGNOME’ tool).
- 29/05/2025 - Introduction to the international liability & compensation regime & the role of the IOPC Funds, by Matthew De Platter (IOPC Funds)
- 30/06-04/7/2025 – MASEPOLREX2025 dry-run (presented in section below)
Note. The outputs, training material, reports and all associated documents and files of these activities are provided in APPENDIX : Main outputs from preparatory activities Erreur ! Source du renvoi introuvable., p. 42
Dry run
To ensure the Kenyan Authorities were fully prepared for the FTX, including participation of international representatives from the region and beyond, various activities and a ‘dry-run’ were organized from Monday 30th June to Friday 4th of July.
The focus was on two separate but linked elements:
- National incident management, organization and regional cooperation mechanisms
- Practical deployment of teams, vessels & transport and equipment
Using the Marine National Contingency Plan (NCP) as the guiding document, the aim was to ensure IMT personnel were designated, comfortable with MASEPOLREX 2025 objectives, fully conversant with their respective role and responsibility within the national response system and that they were familiar with key principles of incident management and operational planning processes.
Likewise, the key personnel involved in coordinating the field activities (at sea and onshore), including equipment deployment, needed to be fully prepared.
Tasks undertaken included the following:
- Review of the specific FTX objectives in relations to incident management, organisation and regional/ international cooperation
- Visit of vessels & response equipment (Mombasa port)
- Finalisation of the set-up of the Kenya National IMT rooms, communication tools & other facilities
- Test-run the exercise scenario with key participants from Kenya
- Review of the provisions of the Marine NCP and related IMT Role Checklists (Appendix H)
- Review of the list of personnel to be mobilised during MASEPOLREX2025 in conjunction with the Kenyan authorities
- Identification of the key processes and support forms and documents to be completed for the notification, development of the IAPs, request for assistance, etc.
- Validation of a scenario covering the reactive and pro-active phases of the incident
- Conduct of general and face-to-face inductions with key IMT members on their roles and responsibilities
- Presentation of the key mechanisms for requesting and management of external assistance
- Carrying out of two dry-run session (2 half days) to be familiar with the spill scenario and initiation of the response
- Carrying out of a ‘hot-wash’ to collect feedback from the IMT following the dry-run, in improve actions during the main FTX event.
The outline of the main activities undertaken during the dry-run as well as the daily provided to IOC during the dry run are provided in Appendix “Dry-run daily reports”.
The learning points captured are incorporated into this document, which therefore serves as final reporting for both the dry-run and the FTX.
Inclusion of generative AI technology
A news report from Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC) was generated by OSRL using artificial intelligence technology and submitted to the IMT as an inject on Tuesday 08/07.
The intention was to add realism to the exercise and to play Crisis Communication aspects (the diffusion of the news report was followed by an inject to the IMT Incident Commander to organise a press conference at KMA building) The press conference was organised by KMA corporate communication department was attended by local journalists (playing their own role with scripted questions prepared by exercise IOC consultants).
The news report is available online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5u_3aloOFE) and snap shots are reproduced below as well as a picture showing the viewing of the report by IMT members.