Oil spills: OSRL and CEDRE sign ‘Letter of Cooperation’

Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) and France’s Centre for Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE) have signed a ‘Letter of Cooperation’ to strengthen operational-level collaboration, as well as increasing personnel and knowledge sharing across a broad range of areas related to spill preparedness and response.

The announcement represents a formalisation and reaffirmation of both organisation’s commitment to maintaining high levels of operational cooperation – a relationship that has existed for many years.



The agreement has been described as primarily operational in nature and will focus on advancing technology, training and good practice approaches when dealing with oil spills.

OSRL CEO, Robert Limb, and CEDRE Director, Stéphane Doll, signed the agreement earlier this week at OSRL’s base in Southampton, UK, following a tour of OSRL’s facilities and extensive equipment stockpile.

“The signing of this agreement is an important step towards an increased level of cooperation between our organisations,” said Limb. “It is a significant development for OSRL’s members and will facilitate advances in our understanding and approach to dealing with a spill by combining our collective experience, research and technical capabilities in this area”, Limb continued.

“The signing of this letter of cooperation is an important landmark for CEDRE as it is the first building block in the bridge both organisations will strive to develop and consolidate,” Doll added.

The Letter of Cooperation outlines the ways in which the two organisations will work together and details the specific areas contained in the agreement, including:

Documentation and sharing of technical expertiseCollaborative development of best-practice principles, including technical studies and contingency planningTraining of in-house and OSRL member personnelAnalysis of equipment and research and developmentResearch to identify new technologies and improved operational methods.