A major oil pollution of the North Sea could ruin the huge efforts that are currently done to preserve such a sensitive ecosystem and to come to a sustainable management and a sustainable exploitation of its resources. In case of oil pollution of the sea, it is crucial that the intervention teams quickly decide on the best way to fight the pollution, minimizing the environmental damages. This is the reason why the Belgian Marine Environment Protection Law of 20 January 1999 imposes the choice of the response strategy to be supported by a documented and scientifically-based method. |