Fighting marine pollution along the European coastline requires international co-operation and mutual assistance, a maritime safety meeting in Dublin heard today.
Ireland is exposed to potentially serious maritime accidents by its position at the apex of shipping routes, Mr Maurice Mullen, director general of the Maritime Safety Directorate, said.
He was addressing an international four-day conference, convened under the Bonn Agreement, on the technical and scientific counter-pollution activities at Dublin Castle.
The Bonn Agreement provides the basis of combating marine pollution. The pact was drawn up in 1969 following a series of major oil spills.
The agreement was developed to encourage North Sea States to combat oil pollution through mutual co-operation, surveillance and the enforcement of mutually agreed regulations.
A new agreement was signed in 1983 which wants to build on the co-operation established and develop surveillance activities.
Mr Mullen said Ireland had been invited to accede to the Bonn Agreement this year.
He said responding to oil spills, co-operation when dealing with chemical accidents at sea and working together to investigate causes of pollution are issues of key importance to Irish maritime safety.