ECO-CONSCIOUS workers for one of the country's largest ports have taken part in essential training to help equip them with the skills need to deal with oil spills. 

Harwich Haven Authority employees recently teamed up with environmental management company Ambipar, which delivered vital training to staff.

The programme covered ways to prevent, mitigate and respond to oil spillages, detailed the environmental impact of such incident, and offered guidance on how to handle waste and clean-up oil spills. 

William Barker, marine director and harbour master at the Harwich Haven Authority said: "Fortunately, oil spills are a very rare occurrence in the haven.

"As the Statutory Harbour Authority we regularly train for such incidents to ensure compliance with the Merchant Shipping regulations.

“We are surrounded by Sites of Special Scientific Interest and land that is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"So, we maintain a high level of preparedness, which includes collaborative actions with other agencies, to minimise the environmental impact that a pollution accident or incident may cause.

“In addition, we continue to engage with Haven stakeholders to increase awareness of our environmental commitment, which focuses on the protection and improvement of the Haven.”