Although workshops and exercises have been conducted under the “Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic” since 2014, the formal ratification process was completed in late March 2016.

In 2013, Ministers of the eight Arctic States signed the “Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic.” Since the signing of the Agreement, the Arctic States have conducted one exercise, hosted by Canada in 2014, under the Agreement. The second exercise is ongoing under the leadership of the U.S. The formal ratification process for the Agreement was completed in late March 2016.

The first exercise under the Agreement consisted of a communications exercise. In September 2015, the U.S. hosted a workshop at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters to prepare for the second exercise. The workshop addressed the identification of the highest-risk Arctic spill scenarios, and reviewed lessons learned from the 2014 Canadian-led exercise. In June 2016, the next tabletop exercise will be held in Montreal, Canada, alongside the first EPPR meeting of the year.

Among its other benefits, the June 2016 exercise will be an opportunity for the participants to forge lasting working relationships with their counterparts in other federal, state and local agencies across the Arctic Council. Further exercises under the Agreement are expected to place during the Chairmanship of Finland (2017-2019).