Whitstable Harbour tests response to oil spill incident

Whitstable Harbour successfully tested its ability to respond to an oil spill at an exercise earlier this week.

The exercise simulated an oil spill incident originating from a landside fuel tank failure, resulting in a release of hydrocarbon into both the terrestrial and marine environment at the harbour.

It included staff from the city council, its oil spill contractor Ambipar, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other partner organisations.

The event, which comprised a tabletop element and a practical deployment of spill response resources, tested the harbour’s various operating protocols and strategies it has in place to deal with a spill incident.

This included the viability of booming across the harbour entrance as a response strategy.

The all-day exercise confirmed that all the necessary processes are in place to deal with such an incident should it happen for real in future, along with the resilience to be able to do so.

The harbour is required to carry out exercises like this every three years as part of its compliance requirements.

Published: 23 October 2025