Tag: IMO

A brief overview of the mandatory measures A brief overview of the mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases (GHGs) from international shipping explained by IMO's Marine Environment Divison Director, Jo Espinoza-Ferrey.

Linda Johnson has been awarded the prize Ms Linda (Lindy) Johnson of the United States of America has been posthumously awarded the prestigious International Maritime Prize, for her significant contribution to the work of IMO, in particular with regard to the protection of the marine environment.Ms Johnson, who passed away in October 2010 after a long illness, joined the Office of General Counsel for International Law of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1992 and was a regular member of the United States delegation to meetings of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) from 1995 until her retirement in 2010.IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos presented the award, a sculpture in the form of a dolphin, to Mr. David Beddoe, Ms Johnson's husband, during a special ceremony at IMO Headquarters (on Monday, 11 July 2011). Ms Johnson was involved in the negotiation of many international environmental treaty instruments, having served as Chair for a number of important IMO working, drafting and technical groups, as well as acting as coordinator for several correspondence groups.She played a crucial role in the development of revised procedures for the designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) and was directly involved ...

By enforcing mandatory slower steaming on ships destined for EU ports The European Union will take measures for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by enforcing mandatory slower steaming on ships destined for EU ports in case the International Maritime Organization fails to proceed. One measure that the Europan Commission has, in order to cut down CO2 emissions, is to suggest a potential mandatory speed reduction for all ships entering EU ports.The member states and lobby groups at the International Maritime Organization, which are taking part in this weeks meeting, have taken into consideration that they ought to agree on measures regarding the reduction of shippings greenhouse gas emissions. Even if they agreed for the energy efficiency design index, there is still the likelihood that Brussels will find this measure insufficient and will decide to proceed alone by taking its own decisions.Anyone citizen living in European Union knows that there is a goal of reducing the regions greenhouse gases by 30% by 2030, based on the 1990 levels. However, shipping is also expected to play its role in this goal. That is the reason why the Commission is waiting to see if the IMO is able to find solutions to this environmental ...

MEPC 62nd session: 11 to 15 July 2011 Mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from international shipping will be considered for adoption by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), when it meets for its 62nd session from 11 to 15 July 2011 at IMO Headquarters in London.Also high on the agenda will be the consideration, with a view to adoption, of amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) to designate a new United States Caribbean sea area emission control area; to designate the Baltic Sea as a Special Area with respect to pollution by sewage from ships; and to adopt a revised Annex V related to control of garbage. The MEPC will also discuss issues relating to the implementation of the ship recycling and ballast water management conventions and consider the adoption of new guidelines on bio-fouling.GHG amendments At the request of a number of States party to MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships, the MEPC will be invited to consider proposed amendments to Annex VI to make mandatory the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and ...

The MEPC 62 meeting will deal with some 226 submissions The 62nd session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Committee on the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 62) will be held from 11 to 15 July 2011 in London. BIMCOs Marine Department will be strongly represented at the meeting.MEPC is responsible for co-coordinating the IMO's activities on the prevention and control of pollution of the marine environment from ships and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The Convention and its Annexes deal with prevention of pollution from oil, chemicals, other harmful substances, garbage, and sewage.The MEPC 62 meeting will deal with some 226 submissions and the agenda includes the following important items:Harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water (Ballast Water Management) Recycling of ships Prevention of air pollution from ships Reduction of GHG emissions from ships Noise from commercial shipping Interpretations of, and amendments to, MARPOL and related instrumentsIn order to try to cope with the high number of submissions, the MEPC 62 meeting arrangements will include the establishment of the following working, drafting and review groups:Working Group on GHG Issues Working Group on Guidelines for Ship Recycling Working Group on Environmental Risk Evaluation Criteria Drafting ...

In connection with the awarding of the 2011 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea In connection with the IMO Council session last week, a panel decided to award the crew on board Charlotte Mærsk a diploma for special recognition of the brave efforts made during a fire on board their ship in 2010.The recognition was given in connection with the awarding of the 2011 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.On 7 July 2010, a fire broke out on board Charlotte Mærsk, which had a cargo of 4142 containers on board, 45 nautical miles off the Malaysian coast. The fire arose in a container with dangerous goods, and the fire developed explosively. Soon it became clear to the crew that the fire was serious and presented a risk of spreading to, among other things, a container with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).It was considered abandoning the ship, but the crew decided to fight the fire themselves and thereby contributed greatly to extinguishing the fire. The crew was ready to fight the fire 7 minutes after the alarm sounded. The crew carried out the fire-fighting activities on their own for the first 24 hours since assistance from the relevant authorities could ...

Every vote counts Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents all sectors and trades and over 80% of world merchant tonnage, is calling on governments to support a crucial vote, next week, at the London-based UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), to help shipping deliver meaningful CO2 emissions reductions on a global basis. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ICS member national shipowners associations are lobbying their governments hard to ensure that they support the adoption of global rules on technical and operational measures, which ICS believes will deliver at least a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, per tonne-km of trade carried by sea.Every vote will count. explained ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.We appreciate that some developing countries - in our view mistakenly - are concerned that a positive IMO decision on technical measures, that will apply to all ships equally, regardless of flag, might somehow prejudice their positions at the high level UN Climate Change negotiations. But any failure to agree at IMO will make discussions on the reduction of shippings emissions far more difficult. As well as being bad for the environment, a no vote will threaten the level playing ...

For her significant contribution in particular with regard to the protection of environment The IMO Council has unanimously agreed to award the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2010 posthumously to Ms Linda (Lindy) Johnson of the United States of America, for her significant contribution to the work of IMO, in particular with regard to the protection of the marine environment.Ms Johnson, who passed away in October 2010 after a long illness, joined the Office of General Counsel for International Law of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1992 and was a regular member of the United States delegation to meetings of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) from 1995 until her retirement in 2010.Ms Johnson was involved in the negotiation of many international environmental treaty instruments, having served as Chair for a number of important IMO working, drafting and technical groups, as well as acting as coordinator for several correspondence groups.She played a crucial role in the development of revised procedures for the designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) and was directly involved in the PSSA designation of the sea around the Florida Keys, United States (2002) and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, United ...

The European Commission tightens up the guidelines for member states Brussels will give new guidelines to Port State Control regarding the enforcement of the low-sulphur rules while the European Commission will put forward the revision of the European Unions 2005 sulphur directive, which it will be in accordance with the 2015 and 2020 emission deadlines made by the IMO.A member state which has transposed the directive into its own laws then it is has to inform the commission and prove conformity. A tick box approach will ensure if the general meaning of the directive is the same in any national legislative text. This text has to be in accordance with the EU and the IMO. The percentage of sulphur in a fuel used in the emission control areas is below 0.1%and the other waters of Europe below 3.5% as of next year, and 0.5% as of 2020. The commission will then begin to ensure that member states properly enforce this text. It is now producing stricter guidelines to ensure that any non-compliance by vessels is detected.The commission is also looking to produce guidelines on how each member state reports its data. Brussels now wants to tighten up to ensure that ...

The instruments on fishing vessel safety previously adopted by IMo have not come into force yet The IMO Council has agreed to the convening of a diplomatic conference in South Africa, in 2012, for the purpose of adopting an Agreement on the Implementation of the 1993 Protocol relating to the 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels. The Agreement would amend the technical provisions of the 1993 Protocol and bring them into force.The safety of fishermen and fishing vessels forms an integral part of the Organizations mandate but the instruments on fishing vessel safety which have previously been adopted by the Organization have not come into force due to a variety of technical and legal obstacles and the fishing sector is still experiencing a large number of fatalities every year. Bringing into force a binding international safety regime is expected to play a part in helping reverse that trend.The decision by the IMO Council to hold the 2012 conference follows the endorsement of the draft Agreement by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in May 2011. The Committee had undertaken extensive work to review the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol and address impediments to its entry into force. The MSC ...