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The Governor of Svalbard has indicated that he is in favour of a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil on ships around the islands, Svalbardposten reports.

According to Per Sefland, Governor of Svalbard since October 2005, Svalbard - an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe and located about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole - does not have the necessary equipment to handle a large-scale oil spill.

Speaking to Svalbardposten, Sefland said that as it would be difficult to increase Svalbard's current stand-by capabilities for an ecological disaster, it was therefore important to focus on preventing one from happening in the first place.

As a result, Sefland suggests imposing a ban on the use and carriage of heavy oil in the entire Svalbard archipelago.

The use of heavy fuel oil has already been banned at two natural reserves on the eastern side of the archipelago. An additional three reserves on the western side have also been suggested. However, Sefland is skeptical about applying restrictions only to certain areas rather than the entire group of islands.

In the event of a serious incident taking place in the waters outside Svalbard, Sefland said it could take up to two days for personnel and equipment to arrive at the scene from the mainland. He therefore concluded that it would be impractical for local personnel to carry out any clean-up operations after an oil spill.

Sefland's comments come in the wake of two well-documented oil spill incidents in Norwegian waters over the last few months. At the end of July, the Panama-registered Chinese vessel Full City ran aground during stormy weather near the southern town of Langesund, Telemark, causing a leak of around 200 tonnes of marine fuel.

In May the Russian freezer ship Petrozavodsk ran aground by the coast of the Bear Island in the Barents Sea.

In July the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved, with a view to adoption at its next session (MEPC 60 in March 2010), proposed draft amendments to MARPOL Annex I to prohibit carriage or use of heavy grade oil in the Antarctic area.

The proposed draft amendments would add a new chapter 9 with a new regulation 43, which would prohibit the carriage in bulk as cargo, or carriage and use as fuel, of:

* Crude oils having a density at 15°C higher than 900 kg/m3;

* Oils, other than crude oils, having a density at 15°C higher than 900 kg/m3 or a kinematic viscosity at 50°C higher than 180 mm2/s; or

* Bitumen, tar and their emulsions.

An exception is envisaged for vessels engaged in securing the safety of ships or in a search and rescue operation.