COLOMBO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a proposal to sign a memorandum of understanding with a foreign company for real-time satellite imagery on oil spills, an official told reporters on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference, cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said the number of ships operating in Sri Lankan territorial waters is increasing due to the growth of shipping and port development, which makes it necessary to quickly obtain information about oil spills by ships.
He said that a system to establish such data should be established immediately. The data from the system will enable the government to take quick measures to minimize marine pollution caused by ships, identify the ships that caused the oil spills and take relevant legal actions.
The spokesman said Sri Lanka will establish such a mechanism through the Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), a France-based global company providing monitoring and surveillance solutions for satellites.
The attorney general of Sri Lanka has already cleared the draft memorandum of understanding and the cabinet approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Urban Development and Housing on Monday to sign it, he said. ■
