Stories by Paul OGBUOKIRI
The Marine Environment
Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) is expected to adopt proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI
regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships, at 58th session
which ends today at the IMO Headquarters in London. The Committee will
also continue its work on developing a mandatory regime to control
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping.
The Committee has a packed
agenda, which also includes the consideration of the draft ship
recycling convention and issues relating to the implementation of the
2004 Ballast Water Management Convention.
Prevention of air pollution from
ships
The draft revised Annex VI to
the MARPOL Convention was agreed at the last MEPC session in April.
The main changes would see
progressive substantial reductions in sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen
oxide (NOx) emissions from ships.
The revised Annex VI will allow
for the designation of Emission Control Areas, for SOx and particulate
matter, or NOx, or all three types of emissions from ships, in which
more stringent controls would apply.
MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for
the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships entered into force in May
2005 and has, so far, been ratified by 52 countries, representing
approximately 80.41 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world’s
merchant shipping fleet.
The MEPC is also expected to
adopt amendments to the NOx Technical Code, including a new Chapter 7
based on the agreed approach for NOx regulation of existing (pre-2000)
engines established in the draft amended MARPOL Annex VI.
The draft amended NOx Code
includes provisions for direct measurement and monitoring methods, a
certification procedure for existing engines, and test cycles to be
applied to specified engines.
A Working Group on GHG will be
established to consider reduction mechanisms that may form part of a
future IMO regime to control GHG emissions from international
shipping, and to develop drafts of the actual reduction mechanisms
themselves.
The meeting will have, for its
consideration, phase 1 of the report of the updated IMO Study on
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, which has been completed by an
international consortium of renowned research institutes coordinated
by MARINTEK of Norway.The report of the first intersessional meeting
of IMO’s Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, held in
Oslo, Norway (23 to 27 June 2008), will also be considered by the
Committee. That meeting made progress on developing a mandatory CO2
Design Index for new ships and on developing further the interim CO2
Operational Index, and held extensive discussions on best practices
for voluntary implementation. The Oslo meeting also exchanged views on
economic instruments with GHG-reduction potential.
Although, to date, no mandatory
GHG instrument for international shipping has been adopted, IMO has
given extensive consideration to the matter and is currently working
in accordance with an ambitious work plan, due to culminate, in 2009,
with the adoption of a binding instrument. IMO is working to have
measures in place to control GHG emissions from international shipping
before the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires at
the end of 2011.
The MEPC is also expected to
consider the related legal aspects and decide whether the GHG
regulations should form part of an existing convention or whether an
entirely new instrument should be developed and adopted.
The MEPC will also decide on the
work needed prior to MEPC 59, to be held in July 2009, when final
adoption of a coherent and comprehensive IMO regime to control GHG
emissions from ships engaged in international trade is planned.
The MEPC is expected to conduct
an article-by-article and regulation-by-regulation review of the draft
new convention providing globally applicable regulations for ship
recycling and for recycling activities, with a view to its circulation
for consideration and adoption by the diplomatic conference to be held
in Hong Kong, China, from 11 to 15 May 2009.
•The design, construction,
operation and preparation of ships so as to facilitate safe and
environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and
operational efficiency of ships;
•The operation of ship recycling
facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner; and
•The establishment of an
appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling, incorporating
certification and reporting requirements.
Harmful aquatic organisms in
ballast water
To date, 16 States have ratified
the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’
Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention), adopted in February
2004, representing about 14.24 per cent of the world’s merchant
shipping. In accordance with article 18 of the BWM Convention, the
Convention will enter into force twelve months after the date on which
not less than thirty States, the combined merchant fleets of which
constitute not less than thirty-five percent of the gross tonnage of
the world’s merchant shipping, have become Parties to it.
Bearing in mind the emphasis the
international community places on the issue of invasive species in
ships’ ballast water, the Committee is expected to urge other States
to ratify the Convention at the earliest opportunity.
The MEPC will be invited to
adopt revised Guidelines for approval of ballast water management
systems and Guidelines for ballast water sampling. The Committee will
also be invited to approve the Guidance document on arrangements for
responding to emergency situations involving ballast water.
The MEPC is expected to decide
on proposals for "basic approval" and "final approval" of ballast
water management systems that make use of active substances, after
consideration of the report of the sixth and seventh meetings of the
GESAMP*Ballast Water Working Group, which met in and May and June-July
2008. The Working Group has considered six proposals, and is
recommending that basic approval could be granted to three proposals
and final approval be granted to two proposals.
Minimizing the risk of ship
strikes with cetaceans
The MEPC will consider a
proposed draft guidance document on minimizing the risk of ship
strikes with cetaceans.
OPRC-HNS implementation
The MEPC will be invited to
consider the report of the eighth meeting of the OPRC HNS** Technical
Group, which is being held in the week prior to the Committee’s
session and is expected to consider, for approval, the draft Manual on
assessment of oil spill risks and preparedness and the IMO/UNEP Manual
on the assessment and restoration of environmental damage following
marine oil spills.
Also under consideration will be
the draft Manual on chemical pollution to address legal and
administrative aspects of HNS incidents; revisions to the Manual on
oil pollution, Section I - Prevention; the draft Guidance document on
identification and observation of spilled oil; a draft outline for the
Technical guidelines on sunken oil assessment and removal techniques;
the revised draft Guidance document on the establishment of co-ordinated
Joint Information Centres during oil spill response; the revised
Guidance document on the use of the Incident Command System (ICS)
during oil spill response; a draft Guideline for oil spill response in
fast currents; a proposed International guide for oil spill response (OSR)
planning and readiness assessments; and draft materials for two
introductory training courses on preparedness for and response to HNS
pollution incidents in the marine environment.
