135th Offshore Security Coordination Committee meeting held at Ahmedabad
Sep 01, 2023
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 1 : The 135th meeting of the Offshore Security Coordination Committee (OSCC) was held at Ahmedabad on Friday under the chairmanship of Director General Indian Coast Guard Rakesh Pal to review the preparedness and effectiveness of the security of India's offshore installations.
Addressing the meeting, the chairman of the OSCC highlighted the Government of India's initiatives of opening a substantial portion of EEZ and expanding exploration and production activities in a bid to achieve self-sufficiency in the energy sector and underlined the importance of focused and sustained offshore security efforts for facilitating these activities in a safe and secure environment.
Highlighting the incident of stranded personnel onboard Jackup, rig "Key Singapore" during Very Severe Cyclone Biparjoy, the chairman lauded the efforts of rescue agencies especially ICG for safely evacuating 50 personnel in extremely adverse weather and stressed having SOPs for the safety of men and material onboard oil platforms during cyclonic weather.
"The chairman also expressed concerns over security challenges that emerged due to ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world and emphasized the need for modern technology such as anti-drone solutions in order to adapt to the evolving maritime threat environment and bolster offshore security efforts," an official statement said.
During the meeting, the Chairman also stressed the need to have round-the-clock surveillance of offshore assets to ensure the security and safety of offshore assets with the extension of offshore activities into deeper seas.
The chairman also appreciated the prompt response of offshore security agencies in detecting the adrift derelict vessel 'Al-Azher-1' and the subsequent efforts of ICG in averting any un-towards incident showing the effectiveness of functioning of OSCC as a forum and emphasized pre-emptive surveillance to avert such disasters especially during monsoon.
The meeting was attended by stakeholders/representatives from various organizations namely the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, HQ ODAG, Indian Air Force, ONGC, DGH, IB, DG Shipping, MHA, MEA and DRDO.
OSCC was constituted in 1978 to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of offshore security arrangements. The OSCC is the apex policy-making body and meets every six months to review and evaluate offshore security in India.
