Enhanced oil spill response in Red Sea area thanks to Lamor and NCEC partnership

Challenge

The Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest sea routes, has an extensive pristine coastline which could suffer irreparable damage from a major oil spill. Consequently, NCEC and the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture have collaborated with Lamor to enhance the region's response capabilities. With Saudi Arabia's tourism sector growing faster than ever, environmental protection is now a top priority.

Solution

As a result of our agreement, there are now five oil spill response vessels and three aircraft stationed along the Red Sea coast. These are supported by personnel and OSR equipment on standby, ready to respond to emergencies. In 2022, under the supervision of NCEC, we promptly responded to oil spills in the Red Sea, conducted marine environmental surveys and took part in national exercises and drills within the area.

Additionally, Lamor has trained over 1,100 local experts and responders, with plans to train more than 2,000, from high-level national leaders to local responders. Under NCEC command, technical reports were prepared with various stakeholders to improve oil spill readiness and response in Saudi Arabia.

“We are proud to support Saudi Arabia in improving oil spill response capabilities. In practice this means, among other things, improving the local management system and capabilities of the local professionals, to act effectively in case of a possible oil spill,” says Saad Al Ahmadi, Project Manager of Lamor.

Impact

Lamor’s oil spill response services are helping to protect sensitive sea areas and coastlines from the harmful impacts of oil spills. Thanks to our state-of-the-art equipment and highly-trained personnel, we’re enhancing the oil spill response capabilities in the Red Sea region, now and in the future.