Tag: MEPC 68

The MEPC 68 considered a draft Regional Reception Facilities Plan (RRFP) for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific Region. This plan was submitted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and co-sponsored by Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific island countries. For many Pacific island countries and territories, particularly those comprising small atolls, the provision of adequate waste reception facilities can be challenging, due to unique circumstances such as a shortage of land for disposal sites or limited infrastructure. SPREP has therefore coordinated efforts to develop an RRFP, including the analysis of shipping spatial data and the undertaking of a series of five gap analyses to assess the availability and adequacy of ships' waste reception facilities. The RRFP will allow SIDS to satisfy their waste reception facility obligations under MARPOL through regional arrangements by identifying ports that could serve as Regional Waste Reception Centres. AMSA provided technical assistance to SPREP during the development of this plan, and in partnership with SPREP, conducted gap analyses of reception facilities in five ports across the region, which formed the basis of this plan. The RRFP will now be finalised and is expected to take effect ...

  IMO MEPC 68 has approved Australia's proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) into the South West Coral Sea.This extension will see an additional 565,000 square kilometres of the Coral Sea protected, more than doubling the size of the existing area -—a 140% increase on the current 403,000 square kilometres! Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the adoption of the new PSSA will better protect this beautiful and unique oceanic region. “The Coral Sea is one of the world's most distinctive and undisturbed marine ecosystems,” Mr Truss said. “It behoves us to do all we can to reasonably and responsibly protect one of our greatest natural resources. “Our new measures enhance protection for the Coral Sea—as well as the adjacent Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area—by helping ships traverse the region safely and avoid potentially hazardous areas. “This is a concrete example of the Australian Government taking the necessary steps to protect the Great Barrier Reef, implementing measures outlined in the North East Shipping Management Plan released in October 2014.” Designation as a PSSA helps to protect seas where significant ecological, socio-economic or scientific ...

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met for its 68th session from 11 to 15 May 2015 in which Ballast Water Management status and technology reviewed.   The Convention is ratified by 44 states, representing 32.86%, and it has not yet come into effect. Now, 2,14% more of the world tonnage needed in order the Convention to come in to force.    A “Roadmap for the implementation of the BWM Convention” was agreed, which emphasises that early movers, i.e. ships which install ballast water management systems approved in accordance with the current Guidelines (G8), should not be penalized.  The Roadmap invites the Committee to develop guidance on contingency measures and to expand the trial period associated with the Guidance on ballast water sampling and analysis (BWM.2/Circ.42) into an experience-building phase.    The Committee developed draft amendments to regulation B-3 of the BWM Convention to reflect Assembly resolution A.1088(28) on application of the Convention, with a view to approval at MEPC 69 and consideration for adoption once the treaty enters into force. The draft amendments will provide an appropriate timeline for ships to comply with the ballast water performance standard prescribed in regulation D-2 of the Convention.   ...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has welcomed the progress made, in London last week, by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) on several important environmental issues.   Progress on Ballast Water Implementation Problems (partially undermined by US) The IMO Ballast Water Convention has still not entered into force. While the progress made by IMO to address various implementation problems identified by ICS should help bring the Convention into force sooner rather than later, ICS fears that the unilateral stance taken at the meeting by the United States may actually have the opposite effect. As requested by the shipping industry in a further submission, IMO Member States built on the progress already made at the previous MEPC in October. ICS believes that shipowners can now have increased confidence that, when the Convention enters into force, ships which have installed ‘first generation’ equipment in accordance with existing IMO approval Guidelines will not be unfairly penalised. ICS is also increasingly confident that the future IMO type-approval process, for the expensive new treatment systems required, will be more robust as a result of the new IMO Guidelines which are now being developed. Speaking from Korea (where ICS is attending the AGM of its ...

  The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met for its 68th session from 11 to 15 May 2015.     The MEPC adopted the environmental requirements of the Polar Code and associated MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; adopted amendments to MARPOL related to tanks for oil residues; designated an extension to the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA); and furthered its work on implementation of air pollution and energy efficiency measures and the Ballast Water Management Convention.     Polar Code environmental requirements adopted    The MEPC adopted the environmental requirements of the International Code for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code), and the associated MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory, following the adoption of the safety part of the Code by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in November 2014. The Polar Code is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2017.    The newly-adopted environmental provisions cover:     • Prevention of pollution by oil: discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from any ship is prohibited. Oil fuel tanks must  be separated from outer shell;  • Prevention of pollution by ...

Image Credit: IMO Flickr account    ABS has issued a brief report including key issues discussed and agreed/ adopted during the IMO MEPC 68 (11-15 May, 2015). Ballast Water Management Status of Ratification The Convention has been ratified by 44 States having 32.86% GT of the world fleet. Conditions for entry into force have been met for the threshold of 30 States, but an additional 2.14% tonnage is still needed to meet the 35% GT of the world fleet threshold. BW Management Convention Implementation Anticipating the approaching entry into force of the BWM Convention, the Committee agreed to develop measures to facilitate the implementation of the Convention using an agreed “Roadmap” which includes: Non-Penalization of ships fitted with treatment systems type approved under the current G8Guidelines (MEPC.174(58)); the so-called early movers. Specifically: • systems approved in accordance with the current G8 Guidelines should not be required to be replaced when the revision of the G8 Guidelines occurs or due to occasional lack of efficacy for reasons beyond the control of the shipowner; and • early movers operating ships with properly installed, maintained and operated systems that are approved in accordance with the current G8 Guidelines should not be penalized (sanctioned, warned, detained or ...

  Friends of the Earth environmental group says that newly-adopted environmental provisions of the Polar Code lack vital heavy fuel use ban in the Arctic.  The Group has engaged in negotiations on the Polar Code since the outset of in-depth discussions in 2010, and is pleased to see them come to fruition. Environmental deliberations were slow to commence, only beginning in earnest several years into the process. The environmental portion of the Polar Code will include some noteworthy elements, such as a ban on the operational discharge of oil and chemicals and enhanced standards associated with disposal of sewage and garbage into polar seas. Moreover, voyage planning provisions to safeguard marine mammals — already established in the safety portion of the Code — will provide additional conservation protection. These provisions will be the first species-specific measures that explicitly extend beyond whales and thus will also pertain to sea lions, seals and walrus. IMO omitted many important issues from the environmental portion of the Code. Namely, heavy fuel oil use by vessels in the Arctic is not banned (though it was for the Antarctic in 2010), despite strong policy and environmental arguments put forward by Friends of the Earth and allied NGOs. Eliminating ...

The MEPC met for its 68th session from 11 to 15 May 2015, at IMO Headquarters in London where the envir0nmental provisions of the Polar  Code adopted.   Ships trading in the Polar Regions will have to comply with strict safety and environmental provisions specific to the harsh conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic, following the adoption of the environmental part of the International Code for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code) and associated MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of IMO.   The Polar Code covers the full range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters relevant to ships operating in waters surrounding the two poles.    The newly-adopted environmental provisions cover:     • Prevention of pollution by oil: discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from any ship is prohibited. Oil fuel tanks must  be separated from outer shell;  • Prevention of pollution by noxious liquid substances: discharge into the sea of noxious liquid substances, or mixtures containing such substances is prohibited; • Prevention of pollution by sewage; discharge of sewage is prohibited unless performed in line with MARPOL Annex IV and ...

  The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets  for its 68th session (11-15 May 2015) . During MEPC 68 , the Republic of the Marshall Islands presented at the IMO a proposal calling for a global reduction target on shipping carbon emissions. However, IMO will not proceed with an emissions reduction target and delegates agreed only to address 'at an appropriate future date' a proposal from the Marshall Islands to curb greenhouse gases in the industry.  Tony de Brum,  the Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands, stated while introducing the proposal:  "After years of fiddling at the edges, 2015 must be the year of action.  We present our proposal so that global shipping can be a climate leader.  I call on my colleagues here today to join us. With wind in our sails on the road to Paris, we must step forward together to take decisive action for our planet’s future." Transport & Environment (T&E) accused the IMO of ''falling to procedural excuses'' and ''ignoring obligations'' for fair contribution to combating climate change.  Bill Hemmings, Shipping Programme Manager with Transport & Environment, commented:  "How incredible! Pacific Island delegations confronted the IMO with the fundamental question as to ...

  The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets this week for its 68th session to discuss about the proposed adoption of the environmental part of the Polar Code and associated draft MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; further work on air pollution and energy efficiency measures; and a proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) to parts of the Coral Sea. During the opening,  Mr. Koji Sekimizu, IMO Secretary General, expressed his concerns over the disappointingly slow pace of BWM Convention ratification: "The disappointingly slow pace of ratifications of the Ballast Water Management Convention continues to concern me deeply. Since MEPC 67 the Convention only gained two additional ratifications.  To date, 44 States with an aggregate of 32.86% of the world’s merchant fleet tonnage have embraced the Convention. Once this Convention is activated, we can handle all issues related to its implementation under the IMO System – that is the Ballast Water Management Convention.  44 Member Governments are waiting for the entry into force of the BWM Convention to protect their waters. The resolution the Committee adopted ...