On 16 March, a pipe leak during the loading of a tanker at the terminal in Donges Refinery led to a spill of a quantity of IFO 380 initially estimated at 100 cubic metres. Upon request by the authorities and the refinery, Cedre sent two agents onsite the same day, then two more the following day. Tar balls were reported on 18 March at the opening of the estuary, however no significant recovery at sea could be carried out.

On 18 March, Cedre organised its 13th Information Day, for the second year running in the very spacious and well equipped premises of the INHES (Institut National des Hautes Etudes de Sécurité) at Saint-Denis-La-Plaine near Paris. This Day brought together around a hundred participants to focus on the theme of “Accidental Pollution by HNS”. The round table discussions held at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions were animated by constructive debates. The initial feedback has been very positive. The conferences given at the Information Day are available at www.cedre.fr in the “Publications” section.

From 4 to 6 March, Santiago de Compostela was home to a meeting for the Interreg Atlantic Area project EASY (European Atlantic forecasting SYstem) which aims to build local sea and weather forecast models based on numerous parameters and the technical infrastructure which supports them.

Cedre was invited to the meeting as a potential end-user of the products being developed, in particular concerning dispersion prediction for inshore pollution. France was represented by Mercator Océan, whose models are used as a basis for developing the regional tools of other partners. The project is to be followed by a successive project, currently under preparation, extended to the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea. See www.project-easy.info.

Cedre was invited as a potential end-user to attend a workshop on 17 March for the Interreg Atlantic Area project MARINE (Autonomous vehicles in the response to maritime incidents), which aims to provide the services of aerial and marine drones equipped with pollutant detectors with associated software for response coordinators. These services should allow decision-making without human intervention in the event of a chemical risk. Two Brest based structures, ENSIETA and Brest pilotage, are the project partners for France.

On 5 March, the European Commission adopted a communication on reinforcing the European Union's response capacity in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. An action plan should be implemented by the end of 2008. The project will be carried by France in its role of EU presidency. Within this context, a proposal has been made to transform the “Monitoring and Information Centre” (MIC) under the Environment DG into an operational centre and to reinforce it with backup resources.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), which has recently published its 2008 work programme, has launched a tender for clean-up services in the Black Sea (see Newsletter n° 141) and the North Sea. The submission of tenders proposing a “group” of vessels of which one or more could be mobilised is encouraged. The deadline for application submissions is 29 April. The specifications are available on the website www.emsa.europa.eu, in the “Procurement” section, “Invitation to apply”, “2008 Vessel Tender: EMSA/Neg/03/2008”.

The 7th meeting of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) OPRC/HNS technical group was held from 25 to 28 March 2008 in Southampton upon the invitation of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The meeting brought together 75 representatives of 26 countries and 7 international organisations. Cedre was particularly involved in the work of this group, mainly dedicated to preparing or revising guides or manuals and training courses. The group's president Mark Meza (US Coastguard) presented the Working group's report to the MEPC, whose 57th session was held in London from 31 March to 4 April 2008.