The Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) is an organisation set up by the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (often by oil tankers ...

to enable a quick and effective response to

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

s around the Australian coastline. The organisation is owned by the Australian Institute of Petroleum and is financed by nine participating oil companies and other industry-related companies. It was established in 1991 and the following year moved its base to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Victoria. Its establishment was a direct result of a review conducted by the Australian oil industry following the ''Exxon Valdez''

Accident response

The Centre has an equipment stockpile on 24-hour stand-by. The AMOSplan is voluntary mutual aid arrangement where oil company equipment may be shared to best respond to a spill. AMOSplan replaced the former Marine Oil Spills Action Plan (MOSAP). The MOSAP was activated when an oil spill became too large for an individual company to adequately deal with. Integration with government responses to spills is framed within the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil, which is managed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Major incidents

In 2009, AMOSC responded to the Montara oil spill in the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

by mobilising aircraft and dispersant for aerial spraying.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.amosc.com.au/ Organizations established in 1991 Organisations based in Geelong Emergency management in Australia 1991 establishments in Australia Petroleum industry in Australia

Accident response

Major incidents

See also

References

External links