In the ports of the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan, it is necessary to create a marine rescue service to clean the Caspian Sea from oil spills, deputy of the Senate Suindik Aldashev believes, INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN reports.
"Given the large size of the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea coast, it is necessary to create a Kazakh maritime rescue service in the seaports of the Mangystau region in order to take all possible precautions to reduce damage, as well as reduce large - scale emergencies at sea," Aldashev said, speaking at the Senate plenary session on Thursday.
According to him, in 2020, 15 million tons of oil was produced in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, of which 2.2 million tons were transported through the port of Aktau. At the same time, in 2020, ships entered the seaports of Aktau and Kuryk 1 thousand 283 times, it is expected that by 2025 the figure will double. In this regard, according to Aldashev, the risk of pollution of the Caspian Sea is growing.
"The main threat of pollution of the Caspian Sea is the spill of oil and petroleum products during production and transportation. Spotting and removing the spots requires a lot of organizational, technical and technological efforts to prevent marine pollution,” he said.
According to the senator, currently in Kazakhstan there is no unit certified in accordance with the established procedure, equipped with special equipment, materials with a sufficient number of qualified and experienced rescue specialists. The forces and means available in the system of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the country, including operational and rescue teams, are not able to perform such tasks, the deputy believes.
"We hope that this service will consist of qualified specialists equipped with emergency rescue, underwater, diving towing and other modern technical means and will make a great contribution to the safety of the use of the Caspian Sea in the country," the deputy concluded.