– Delegates came to their final conclusions on the outcome of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee meeting here at headquarters of the International Maritime Organization. CQD provides the following summary of major agenda items.
Antifouling paints
- The working group on the harmful effects of the use of antifouling paints for ships left a lot on its plate for debate at the next MEPC 45 meeting in October 2000. There is pressure to accomplish a great deal, in order to have a Diplomatic Conference in 2001. The Secretary General of IMO noted the group has only one more meeting (MEPC 45) before they need to have a workable legal document at the diplomatic conference. This means they must present a full and clean draft text available for discussions by next October.
Richard Haluska, technical advisor to BIMCO explained the working group "got a lot done, but there's a heck of a lot more to do."
The fact that a basic structure for a convention to ban certain antifouling paints
was reached was felt to be a big accomplishment. The working group agreed in principle to use the proposed (MEPC document 44/3) draft text and make changes as suggested by the group.
Major items deferred for consideration to the next MEPC include:
- Will the convention apply to all ships regardless of size?
- How will the instrument enter in force?
- Do ship owners need to remove all traces of TBT or can a sealant be applied to the hull?
- What performance criteria will be required?
- Evaluation of alternatives – Will the legal instrument outline an evaluation plan for alternative antifouling paints or must ship owners assume all non-tributyltin alternatives are environmentally and
functionally sound until proven otherwise?
- Flag state vs. Port state – Issues relating to certificates by flag states and inspections by port states were deferred as well.
With the many items deferred to the next MEPC meeting, questions arise regarding the level of accomplishment at MEPC 44. Delegation members felt strongly that coming together on a basic structure for the legal
document is a big step in putting together a workable instrument.
Ballast Water – The working group on harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water
can be extremely satisfied to report "agreement in principle" on some key points. Most importantly, the group has established a planned target date of 2002 to
establish some form of convention on ballast water management.
The ballast water working group "agreed in principle" on a number of items. These include:
- Planning a diplomatic conference by 2002.
- Baseline requirements for all ships shall include; a ballast water management plan, ballast water management record book and an ability to manage sediments in ballast tanks.
- Ballast water management shall be taken into consideration in the design and building of new ships.
- Responsibilities of flag states and port states have been delineated.
- Criteria for establishing good management practices were discussed in the areas of (a) discharge and uptake of ballast water, (b) managing sediments,
and (c) technical evaluation and description of a group of experts.
As one delegate stated, "Even though we don't agree on some points, we see more promise now then ever before."
Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships – The MEPC spent some time
discussing the issues surrounding sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions as a potential air pollutant hazard from ships' stacks. One of the key measures to keep SOx emissions
at permissible levels is the use of bunker fuels containing low sulfur percentages. MEPC requested governments, the oil and shipping industries to ensure the availability of low sulfur bunker fuel oil.
The Committee also approved a proposed amendment to regulation 14(3)(a) of Annex VI to MARPOL 73/78 to include the North Sea as a SOx Emission Control Area.
IMO Briefing 6 March 2000 – 15 March 2000
Recycling of Ships - Environmental and human safety concerns during the practice of scrapping ships was raised by delegations from Norway and the
Netherlands. After contentious discussions led by the India delegation, who questioned the role of IMO in a land-based activity, the MEPC decided to establish a
correspondence group. Led by Bangladesh, the grop will report on the following issues by 2001:
- Gather and identify relevant information on current practices in the process of ship recycling.
- Identify safety and environmental risks of ship recycling.
- Determine the level of current procedures to reduce said risks.
- Correspond with other international organizations such as ILO, the Basel Convention and the London Convention to determine the appropriate level of responsibilities for all relevant organizations, including IMO.
Oil Prevention, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) - Although delegation members were heavily involved in the HNS Diplomatic Conference
