RMI EPA, which is responsible for all land and water environmental concerns in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, has been tasked by their President with development of an Oil Spill Task Force and a National Contingency Plan for oil spill response. An oil spill that occurred on January 28, 2024 from a vessel that sank in the Delap area of Majuro Lagoon raised awareness of the risk from oil spills in RMI and the need to improve response capacity.

The RMI EPA Managing Director and several program managers met with the U.S. team, as well as a representative from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). USCG participants in the meetings included members of the USCG District 14 Response Advisory Team and the recently formed USCG Indo-Pacific Regional Activities Center (IndoPAC RAC). The mission of the IndoPAC RAC, located in the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii is to build response capacity in the Pacific region and to help partner nations implement International Maritime Organization Conventions on marine pollution. 

In addition to meetings on development of an oil spill response National Contingency Plan for RMI, the team briefed the RMI President and Cabinet members and visited sites in Majuro significant in regard to spill risk and response. Oil spills in RMI would threaten extensive areas of coral reef and other sensitive marine resources. 

The initiation of the Oil Spill Task Force and development of a National Contingency Plan for the Marshall Islands marks major progress towards oil spill preparedness and response in the future for the region.