Washington DC, June 21, 1999 - In preparation for next week's meeting of the Marine Environmental Protection
Committee in London, the US team held a public meeting Tuesday to discuss the Us positions on several important environmental issues under
consideration. Interested stake holders from industry and environmental groups listened and commented on the US delegations' "plan of attack".
The Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC)
and its various working groups iron out technical and legal aspects of environmental issues facing the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO will use MEPC's reports to suggest
environmental guidelines and regulations to the shipping industry and maritime nations. The upcoming session is generating controversy because of issues such as harmful effects on the use of anti-fouling paints for ships.
The US delegation, headed by Joe Angelo, Director of Standards in Marine Safety and Environmental Standards for the US Coast Guard, plays a significant role at the London
meetings. US members come from the USCG, EPA, State Dept., DOD as well as private groups such as American Association of Port Authorities and others. Certain
international working groups in MEPC are chaired by US delegation members.
Tuesday's gathering in Washington may be a harbinger of the contentiousness awaiting
in London. The most debated issue involved a draft resolution, approved at the last MEPC meeting, to ban anti-fouling ship paints containing the biocide tributyltin or
TBT. Bryan Wood-Thomas of the EPA noted the anti-fouling paint discussions will center around (1) devising a legal, globally binding instrument, (2) addressing
alternatives to TBT based anti-fouling paint and (3) the effective implementation dates for a TBT ban.
Members of the US shipping industry were vocally distressed over concerns that
alternative anti-fouling paints do not meet US emission standards (VOC limits) set by the Clean Air Act. Similar concerns and frustrations were also voiced by a number of
paint and chemical manufacturers. Stake holders are worried US shipyards may not have any approved ship hull paint available in time for the 1/1/2003 deadline on TBT application.
Wood-Thomas recognized the sense of urgency is a legitimate problem facing the US delegation, particularly since other international players in the discussions do not
have similar limits. He offered his services to work with the parties to identify the "pressure points" involved in the regulatory process.
Representatives from chemical and paint manufacturers also defended their
antifoulant products. They pointed to their own tests showing a number of alternative products with similar effectiveness and duration to TBT based anti-fouling paints.
They urged expedience in approving alternative antifoulants.
Ship owners' representatives voiced differing opinions. Kathy Metcalf, of the Chamber
of Shipping of America, said their members were split regarding views on alternative antifoulants. Some members had major problems, others did not, but they recognize application costs will be double.
Another ship owners' representative, Dick Haluska spoke to the delegation on studies on US ship hulls using non-TBT based antifoulants. Haluska said US ship owners felt
the tested alternatives did not work as well as TBT based antifoulants. Owners are requesting a relaxation of the proposed dates for a TBT ban until effective alternatives can be identified.
Mr. Wood-Thomas noted the discussion on extending the dates of the ban will be initiated via two papers, one of which was submitted by shipping interests such as
BIMCO, Intercargo and others. He indicated the US delegation will be open minded regarding discussions on a date extension. However, the dates issue was debated and
resolved in the previous MEPC meeting (#42) last November. Strong support may be required to convince international members to re-negotiate a previous item.
Joe Angelo concluded the discussion by noting there does not appear to be a US consensus on the issue of extending the dates for the ban. Hence, the US delegation
will "stick with current dates, see what develops and adjust if necessary."
Additional topics the US delegation is preparing for include:
- (a) Ballast water working group and continued progress on IMO guidelines,
- (b) Inadequacy of reception facilities for ship waste,
- (c) Prevention of air pollution from ships,
as well as 16 other agenda items. The MEPC will meet officially at IMO's headquarters in London from June 26th to July 2nd
