OSINet, the network of experts for the identification of oil pollution in the Bonn Agreement, was established in 2005 following difficulties in identifying sources of pollution from the 2002 Tricolor accident. OSINet was originally established as an expert working group to address oil spill identification issues and develop standards for oil samples, describing sampling techniques in a manual and developing a common analytical method that can be accepted and used by all Bonn Agreement laboratories. These tasks were addressed by the adoption of Chapter 32 of the Bonn Convention on «Guidelines for the Exchange of Hydrocarbon Samples/Results between Countries and for the Identification of Oil Spills» and by the development of the generally recognized analytical method described in the published technical report CEN 15522-2. OSINet`s objective of promoting quality assurance in the identification of oil spills is achieved through annual meetings and annual intercalibration/circular testing exercises organised by the network. These tests include different products/types of oil and each time deal with different problems related to the identification of the spilled oil. Oil samples from real or fictitious cases are sent to laboratories for analysis in order to render their results. Here you will find reports on the final results of the ring test: the last debris of the wreckage was finally recovered in 2004. But cooperation with the Bonn agreement lasted several more years to support the scientific work needed to support the government`s claims for reimbursement. The complex and damaged oily mixtures that had escaped from the tricolor wreck made it difficult to work on oil «fingerprints» that attempted to link oil pollution to their source. Because of these problems, the Bonn Agreement was created in 2005 with Dr Gerhard Dahlmann (Germany) as convenor of the network of experienced chemists specializing in oil spill identification techniques, now known as OSINet.

RR Report 2013: Comparison of four oil spill samples in a Swedish port Following several oil spills in 1969, the North Sea coastal states concluded the Bonn Agreement to ensure mutual cooperation in pollution prevention and control. . . .