The establishment in 1991 of the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) in Geelong, Victoria, at a cost of ten million dollars represents a major commitment by the Australian oil industry to safeguard the Australian coastline in the event of a major oil spill. The Centre is financed by ten participating oil companies and other subscriber companies. These companies carry out the vast majority of the oil and gas production, offshore pipeline, terminal operations and tanker movements around the Australian coast. AMOSC operates Australia's major oil spill response equipment stockpile on 24 hour stand-by for rapid response anywhere around the Australian coast. The Geelong location places the response centre at the heart of oil movements in Australian coastal waters and has excellent access to road and air transport. AMOSC has also opened an office in Fremantle to support the WA based AMOSC members. The AMOSC training program provides training in the theoretical, planning and practical issues of oil spill response management for oil industry and other interested personnel. The training is based on the IMO I,II &III doctrine and AMOSC is accredited to provide this through the Nautical Institute. In order to ensure that the best possible resources are applied to an oil spill response, oil company owned equipment is shared under a voluntary mutual aid arrangement called AMOSPlan. This mutual aid plan is internationally recognised for its capability by IPIECA.
