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. 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. 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.
