What ISCO is doing ….

Consultative Status at IMO -

Through its consultative status at IMO, ISCO gives the spill response community a voice and input to the work of IMO in safeguarding the marine environment.
Through its involvement in IMO, ISCO alerts the spill response community on new developments, some of which present opportunities for ISCO members.
ISCO contributes to the work of the IMO OPRC-HNS and other Working Groups, collating information and submitting recommendations for improving response to spills, including HNS spills and to Subsea Oil Recovery. The emphasis is on the collation of experiences, problems solved and lessons learned by spill responders – information that is often not published or presented at conferences. This information will be valuable in the drafting of new response guidelines and manuals. Contributors have an incentive to contribute to this work because their inputs will be acknowledged, raising individual or company profiles with governments, oil and shipping industries, insurance interests and others.
ISCO is committed to supporting IMO’s Technical Co-operation Programme, finding qualified individuals who can help third world countries to implement OPRC and other conventions. Day rate, travel and subsistence costs are payable to selected candidates.

Consulative Status at IOPC Funds

ISCO represents its members, attending meetings and providing the organisation with support by contributing spill response experience, knowledge and expertise.

Sourcing help –

Spill scenarios are often unique – presenting very specific problems and requiring innovative approaches or application of methodologies that aren’t in the textbook. ISCO has the contacts that can help you to quickly find the expertise or specialised equipment you need to find in a hurry.
ISCO encourages co-operation between spill responders and can help members find the right partner with complementary skills and know-how to meet new challenges.
ISCO assists governments and other organisations in sourcing emergency support and resources in major pollution incidents. At the touch of a button, ISCO can alert all of its members (and others if necessary) to urgent requirements and, at the same time, act as a filter, summarising available assistance and passing on only the appropriate information. This prevents vital channels of communication becoming clogged up with sales calls.

Spill Response Contracts

ISCO in co-operation with BIMCO established a working group to develop standard spill response contracts with a view to speeding response by removing delays resulting from need for often extended negotiations between contractors and other parties. The ISCO-BIMCO working group participants also included representatives of the International Group of P&I Clubs, the International Salvage Union, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, and the Spill Control Association of America.
The new contracts were launched at the International Oil Pollution Conference in 2017 and have since been introduced to the IMO MEPC. They are now being adopted by leading response contractors, governments and other stakeholders.
The "RESPONSECON" contracts have application for both inland and marine spills, are free to use, and can be downloaded from ISCO and BIMCO websites.

The ISCO Website –

Listing of ISCO Members amd Membership Information
International Directory – for sourcing consultants, equipment and materials manufacturers and suppliers, response organisations, and providers of training courses.
News – ISCO’s weekly newsletter with international, regional and national news, articles and other features for the spill response community.

And, in the “Members Only” part of the ISCO website –

Technical & Reference Sections – Oil spill response, chemical spill response, and CBRN / Homeland Defence – articles and features.
IMO Section – OPRC and HNS Protocol, Reports, IMO News, Work Group Pages
ISCO Pages – “What’s New”, Meeting reports, Complete member listings and background information, ISCO constitution.

The ISCO Newsletter –

ISCO’s weekly newsletter is focused on international, regional and national news that is of interest to professionals, companies and organisations involved in oil and chemical spill control, and the emerging field of CBRN incident response.

Through the Newsletter and its other activities, ISCO is disseminating information on new developments – technical advances, legislation, events and other matters that affect the international spill response community.

In Association with ISAA –

ISCO supports and co-operates with the International Spill Accreditation Association (ISAA) - the world’s only independent accreditation body working with governments, the response community and other stakeholders to raise standards of spill response.
ISAA undertakes the independent assessment and accreditation of spill response companies and organisations, and organises training events, workshops and seminars.