ITAC meet once a year, hosted in different locations, with the meeting chaired by different ITAC members. We blend international themes with regional interest items per the meeting location.
Details for the 2026 event will be available in due course. Please check back for updates as planning progresses.
ITAC is non-commercial and is driven by OSRL as part of our advocacy programme, recognising the benefits of engaging our front-line response staff in industry-focused technical discussion central to developing more effective oil spill response. We hold an ITAC meeting once per year, hosted in different locations with the meeting chaired by different ITAC members. We try to blend both international themes with items of regional interest according to where the meeting is being held.
ITAC is a technical forum that was established in 1996 to address oil spill response (OSR) issues of interest to its member organisations and the wider response community. ITAC projects sought to provide advice, technical support, good-practice guidelines and benchmarking on key issues such as new technological developments in oil spill response techniques, training and response capabilities.
ITAC has evolved over the last twenty years and its model has changed in recent times. Recognising that much of the delivery industry technical outputs are now being channelled through the IOGP/IPIECA JIP and the API projects in the US. ITAC has now been cast in the role of supporting outreach and communication for those industry technical outputs to reach a broader church of stakeholders in the wider oil spill community. As such ITAC no longer “delivers” tangible work items but now offers a forum for knowledge sharing and information exchange.
ITAC’s membership comprises the oil industry (i.e. members of OSRL and other GRN OSROs) international organisations (ITOPF, IMO, IOPC etc), Governmental organisations (USCG, NOAA, etc...) R&D institutes (SINTEF, CEDRE, GoMRI etc...). It also includes academic institutes involved in industry-backed studies and other organisations with a non-commercial interest in improving oil spill response.
The connection with academia is an important feature of the ITAC model recognising that the industry is a big financial supporter of university-based research but sometimes there has been a disconnect with the sharing of knowledge and outputs from these studies with “industry” which ITAC tries to address.
The 2025 Industry Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) meeting, held at Cedre in Brest, France, continued its legacy of uniting global experts, practitioners, and academics to advance innovation in oil spill preparedness and response. This year’s theme, “Bridging Science to Response,” underscored ITAC’s commitment to connecting cutting-edge research with practical, real-world applications.
Hosted jointly by OSRL and Cedre, the event brought together an exceptional line-up of presenters from across the response, research, and regulatory communities. Over three days, delegates explored new frontiers in alternative fuels, dispersant effectiveness, plastics pollution, responder wellbeing, and shipping risk mitigation, reflecting the evolving challenges and opportunities shaping the industry.
Event highlights included:
The event concluded with a French Navy Base Tour, offering delegates a rare opportunity to witness first-hand the integration of response planning and naval operations within France’s maritime emergency framework.
This year’s ITAC reaffirmed its role as a unique non-commercial forum, strengthening connections between science, technology, and operations. The 2025 edition not only celebrated collaboration but also charted a forward-looking path for the future of international oil spill response.
For over a decade, OSRL’s ITAC (Industry Technical Advisory Committee) has been at the forefront of fostering collaboration and innovation in oil spill response and crisis management. ITAC brings together specialists, industry leaders, academics, and stakeholders to share knowledge, explore new technologies, and discuss best practices that drive the industry forward.
This year’s ITAC, held in Fort Lauderdale, marked a milestone in our commitment to excellence and innovation. The event featured keynote speeches, technical sessions, and interactive workshops that addressed the most pressing challenges and emerging trends in the field. Highlights included:
We are proud to share the presentation materials featured during ITAC 2024. These resources reflect the event’s core mission: to inspire innovation, promote collaboration, and equip our industry to respond to challenges with confidence and expertise.
In 2023, ITAC convened at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton, UK, drawing a brilliant attendance of around 70 participants. The audience included OSRL Member representatives from Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Occidental Petroleum, alongside international stakeholders such as API, IPIECA, IMO, UK MCA, ITOPF, UK MMO and Cedre.
We were also pleased to welcome former OSRL colleague Scott Read, who travelled from New Zealand to represent Maritime New Zealand, offering unique insights from both regulatory and response perspectives.
Academic collaboration remains a cornerstone of the ITAC model. This year featured contributions from the University of Portsmouth (UK), the NOC, the University of Essex (UK), Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada), and Nova Southeastern University (USA), all presenting their latest oil spill research to the response community.
ITAC continues to be a uniquely non-commercial forum, delivered as part of OSRL’s outreach and engagement programme. The event reinforces the value of connecting frontline responders with technical specialists through open, industry-focused dialogue, a critical step toward more effective global oil spill response.
To view and download presentations from the last three years of ITAC events, please complete a quick registration. You’ll just need to submit your email address to unlock access to the full content library, including expert insights, case studies, and technical materials from ITAC 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (to follow).
Register to access presentations from the previous years of ITAC.
