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Aerial Surveillance
Co-operation on Aerial
Surveillance over the North Sea Area[1]
4.1.1 The purpose of airborne surveillance is to detect spillages of oil and other harmful substances that can threaten the marine environment of the North Sea Area. The spillages caused by accident, or made in contravention of international conventions will be recorded, taking due account of visual observation, aerial photographs and remote sensing data. Where possible, samples will be taken both from the sea surface and on board the suspected offender.
4.1.2 Within the framework of the Bonn Agreement it has been decided to establish close co-operation on airborne surveillance. This will be achieved by:
a. co-ordination of the national flight plans carried out by the Contracting Parties themselves;
b. co-operation in areas of mutual interest, e.g. by means of Coordinated Extended Pollution Control Operations (CEPCO);
c. setting up special flights, such as Tour d'Horizon, Joint Flights and Aerial Surveillance Exercises;
d. standardisation of reporting formats and exchange of information to Contracting Parties;
e. working together in improving existing systems and develop new techniques to enhance the information obtained;
f. the provisions of the Bonn Agreement Oil Appearance Code (BAOAC) and connected guidelines for its use.
4.1.3 The Contracting Parties to the Bonn Agreement have agreed to participate in the collaboration to the best of their ability.
4.1.4 The surveillance is co-ordinated in accordance with the decisions of the North Sea Conferences and provisions of sub-regional plans in order to make it more efficient and to make better use of the resources.
4.1.5
It is agreed that this cooperation scheme applies only to the
international waters of the
4.2.1 In their regular meetings the Contracting Parties appoint one Contracting Party to be lead country for an agreed period. The lead country prepares the annual programme and updates the Aerial Surveillance Handbook (ASH) accordingly. The ASH contains general information, national waypoints, Tour d'Horizon scheme, special flights, reporting formats and surveillance results assessment. It also contains, as Annexes, the maps showing navigation points and routings, both regional and international.
4.2.2 The ASH will be issued to Contracting Parties by the lead country. It should be read in conjunction with this chapter. The ASH is designed to be used for the day-to-day management of airborne surveillance and as a ready reference for air crew. A lead country collects the data of the various flights executed in a particular year and makes an annual report.
National flights are carried out by Contracting Parties over their own territorial waters and over other waters under their jurisdiction.
Parties involved in a bi- or multilateral agreement (e.g. Memorandum of Understanding) carry out flights on a regular basis over an area of mutual interest.
All Contracting Parties agreed on performing a flight mainly along the offshore installations, of at least 600 nautical miles. The aircraft crew will concentrate on all detectable pollutions from various sources. Roughly the area between 52 north and 63 north is to be surveilled. These flights are carried out according to an agreed yearly scheme. The responsible party is entitled to inform the others on times and routing the day before departure and on changes in the prepared schedule.
A Tour d'Horizon flight will be performed under suitable weather conditions.
A CEPCO operation can be defined as a continuous
sequence of aerial surveillance flights supported by sea-borne assistance -
and where possible also with data from satellite observations - to ensure a
permanent presence (e.g. over a period of 24 hours) in a sea area with high
shipping intensity. This high level of deployment of means is only possible
when several (neighbouring) Contracting Parties cooperate intensively to
ensure continuity and optimal coordination of the surveillance activities. The
aims of the operation are, inter alia:
(i)
to enhance the enforcement of discharge provisions at sea;
(ii)
to increase the deterrent effect of aerial surveillance efforts;
(iii)
to improve the cooperation between the participating authorities.
4.4.1 Each year exercises are organised by authorities of several countries within the Bonn Agreement or the European Community (EC). Participation in these field trials has a bearing on the national and Bonn Agreement flight schedules. Contracting Parties agree to participate in an Aerial Surveillance Exercise organised by one of the countries (not necessarily the lead country) once a year. A participant in exercises will prepare a report to make information gathered available to the organising authority. The organising authority will report to the OTSOPA meeting.
4.4.2 The Aerial Surveillance Exercise normally consists of:
a. field trials, using limited quantities of oil;
b. special substances to study the detectability by means of remote sensing;
c. evaluation of the data recorded during the exercise;
d. a workshop for the exchange of information and discussions of new improvements or developments on remote sensing equipment;
e. evaluation of the exercise by an Exercise Evaluation Team.
4.4.3 All participants forward conclusive reports with data analysis to the lead country.
Detected/observed pollution which warrants combating action are to be reported immediately by radio to the appropriate focal point. These reports are to be followed up by documented reports using the recognised Bonn Agreement formats and any supporting documentation and data considered relevant. Such follow-up reports are to be made direct to the appropriate administrative authority and could include any of the following:
- Standard Pollution Observation / Detection Log and Completion Guide (Annex 1)
- Pollution Observation / Detection Report on Polluters and Combatable Spills (Annex 2)
- Standard Algae Observation / Detection Log (Annex 3)
Data from all surveillance flights should be reported to the lead country in accordance with the agreed procedure.
The flights will be carried out under normal civil aviation regulations of the State concerned. The territories of other countries will not be infringed, unless necessary permissions have been obtained. Special attention will be given to the restrictions on radio and high frequency transmissions in the vicinity of offshore activities.
Flight planning will be drafted under the responsibility of administrative authorities in the respective countries, which are to be identified as follows:
Plans for bi- or multilateral agreements for collaboration on aerial surveillance will be elaborated by the Contracting Parties. The agreement will cover areas where co-operation is practical and suitable and based on mutual interest.
Operational communications between aircraft, ships and centres will increase the mutual exchange of information on observed pollutions and identified suspected polluters. Aircraft and/or ships deployed by responsible authorities are expected to establish contact with a suspected offender and to forward the obtained information to the focal point of a country.
Annex 1
HELCOM
NO POLLUTION DETECTED
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REPORTING
AUTHORITY |
AIRCRAFT
REG |
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CAPTAIN |
CO
PILOT |
OPERATOR |
OBSERVER |
DAY |
DATE |
MONTH |
YEAR |
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FLIGHT
TYPE |
ROUTE
/ AREA |
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TIME
OVER THE SEA |
TIME
OVER THE SEA |
TOTAL
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DAY |
NIGHT |
TIME
OVER THE SEA |
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hrs |
mins |
hrs |
mins |
hrs |
mins |
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No |
AREACODE |
TIME |
POSITION |
DIMENSIONS |
AREA
COVER % |
OILED
AREA Km2 |
OIL
APPEARANCE COVERAGE |
MINIMUM
VOLUME |
MAXIMUM
VOLUME |
COMBAT |
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LATITUDE |
LONGITUDE |
LENGTH
Km |
WIDTH |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Oth |
m3 |
m3 |
Y
/ N |
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