The US Coast Guard has published the October 2015 edition of Waves on the Waterfront which includes an update on the USCG work with international partners on the management of MARPOL wastes at US ports and terminals among other issues.
CG-FAC manages the Coast Guard’s Certificate of Adequacy (COA) which implements important international regulations and ensures U.S. compliance with MARPOL (the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) at U.S. ports and facilities.
CG-FAC Safety Branch staff recently attended the annual meeting of the Subcommittee on Ships and marine technology-Marine environment protection (SC2) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/TC8/SC2) in Hamburg Germany.
While CG-FAC supports other offices within the Coast Guard and its interagency partners on a wide range of issues related to marine environmental protection and enforcement, in the past several years it has taken a lead role in the development of international standards for ensuring MARPOL compliance.
ISO Standards are not mandatory but are universally recognized guidance on best practices, latest available technologies, and technical operating guidance for use by both Government experts and the regulated shipping community.
ISO committees are made up of experts from around the world representing their national standards organization with membership and voting rights at ISO which is based in Geneva.
The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration have typically taken the lead in representing the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the US Delegation to Annual meetings of SC2 and the ISO Technical Committee (TC8).
ISO standards often fill the gap between acceptance of international regulations that impose treaty obligations (like those found in MARPOL and its Annexes) and implementing and enforcement legislation enacted by states party to the Convention, a sometimes lengthy process. This is especially true when Amendments to MARPOL Annexes are adopted at IMO and can come into force in as little as a year.
In the past several years, these Amendments to MARPOL have included a major shift in how ship’s waste is managed aboard ship, and how port states operate port reception facilities in compliance with MARPOL. With CG-FAC taking a leadership role chairing an ISO/TC8/SC2 Work Group, ISO took up the task of completing an ISO standard in 2009 (ISO 21070) on Ship’s Waste Management and in 2011 published ISO 16304, on operating and management of port reception facilities.
Both of these standards are being updated with new editions incorporating the most recent Amendments to MARPOL Annexes and the Coast Guard continues in its leadership role, working closely with its international partners.
The agenda in Hamburg this past month included a complete review for the new editions and a new project proposal for a technical standard on shipboard incinerators which includes previous work completed by CG-ENG.
Working with ISO on such standards helps ensure that international standards, and subsequent legislation and enforcement policy, harmonizes with existing U.S. regulatory schemes, and helps maintain key relationships and promotes essential collaboration with our international partners
Source: USCG / Waves on the Waterfront (October 2015)
In the starting, I was explicit with you propecia before and after has changed my essence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is improbable to sit.
