Competent authorities
Department of Environment (DOE)
IMO focal point
Malaysia Marine Department (MMD)
GI SEA focal points
DOE and MMD
International conventions status
MARPOL 73/78 (Annex I/II)
OPRC 1990
OPRC-HNS 2000
CLC 1992
FUND 1992
Supp Fund 2003
LLMC 1996
HNS Protocol 2010
BUNKER 2001
Nairobi WRC 2007
National framework overview
National Plan
Provincial OSCPs
Incident Management System
Dispersant Policy
NEBA / SIMA
In-Situ Burning
Sensitivity Mapping
Offshore Response Plan
Shoreline Response Plan
Oiled Wildlife Plan
Waste Management Plan
Malaysia has a well‑developed and mature national oil spill preparedness framework, anchored by the Department of Environment (DOE) as the competent national authority and supported operationally by the Marine Department and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). The country has a long track record of managing spills in the highly trafficked Straits of Malacca and South China Sea and maintains a fully established National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), last officially revised in 2014 and further updated through subsequent iterations noted by ITOPF up to 2021, with DOE releasing MOSCoP 2023 as a refreshed national guideline. The framework follows a clear tiered response structure: Tier 1 spills are handled by local facility operators; Tier 2 spills activate State Oil Spill Control Committees (SOSCC); and Tier 3 spills involve the National Oil Spill Control Committee (NOSCC), which comprises 21 government agencies and the petroleum industry’s mutual‑aid organization PIMMAG, whose Tier‑2 equipment stockpile significantly enhances national capability.
Regulatory framework
- Environmental Quality Act 1974
- Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2007
- Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1984
- Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1994 & 2011 Amendments
- Petroleum (Safety Measures) Act 1984
- Fisheries Act 1985
- Continental Shelf Act 1966
- Petroleum Mining Act 1966
- Maritime Enforcement Act 2005
Regional / Subregional cooperation
- Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN Cooperation Mechanism for Joint Oil Spill Preparedness and Response (ASEAN MoU)
- Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan under the Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN Cooperation Mechanism for Joint Oil Spill Preparedness and Response (ASEAN ROSCP)
- The Straits of Malacca and Singapore Cooperation Mechanism
- The Revolving Fund Committee (RFC)
- Standard Operating Procedure for Joint Oil Spill Combat in the South China Sea including Brunei Bay

