International Conference on the Removal of Wrecks: 14-18 May 2007, Nairobi, Kenya

A new international convention on wreck removal has been adopted in Kenya. The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, will provide the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may have the potential to affect adversely the safety of lives, goods and property at sea, as well as the marine environment.

The convention was adopted by a five-day Diplomatic Conference - held in the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for safety and security at sea and prevention of marine pollution from ships - which was addressed by His Excellency, the President of Kenya, the Honourable Mwai Kibaki.

Speaking at the close of the successful Conference, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos told delegates, "This Convention, which establishes uniform international rules and procedures to ensure the prompt and effective removal of hazardous wrecks from the coastal waters of States Parties, will be a welcome addition to the impressive array of IMO instruments all aiming at improving the safety of navigation, security in maritime operations and the protection of the marine environment."

"By establishing a firm jurisdictional basis for dealing with hazardous wrecks, the Convention will, once in force, provide coastal States with the legal certainty for action they have so long sought," he added.

The Convention will fill a gap in the existing international legal framework, by providing the first set of uniform international rules aimed ensuring the prompt and effective removal of wrecks located beyond the territorial sea. The new Convention also includes an optional clause enabling States Parties to apply certain provisions to their territory, including their territorial sea.

Although the incidence of marine casualties has decreased dramatically in recent years, mainly thanks to the work of IMO and the persistent efforts of Governments and industry to enhance safety in shipping operations, the number of abandoned wrecks, estimated at almost thirteen hundred worldwide, has reportedly increased and, as a result, the problems they cause to coastal States and shipping in general have, if anything, become more acute.

These problems are three-fold: first, and depending on its location, a wreck may constitute a hazard to navigation, potentially endangering other vessels and their crews; second, and of equal concern, depending on the nature of the cargo, is the potential for a wreck to cause substantial damage to the marine and coastal environments; and third, in an age where goods and services are becoming increasingly expensive, is the issue of the costs involved in the marking and removal of hazardous wrecks. The convention attempts to resolve all of these and other, related, issues.

IMO Secretary-General Mitropoulos urged IMO Member States to ratify the Convention as soon as possible. "The work of IMO and its membership on this subject does not stop with the signing of the Final Act. Our efforts should turn immediately to the task of bringing the Convention into force at the earliest possible date and, thereafter, to promoting its uniform and effective implementation," he said.

A resolution adopted by the Conference, on promotion of technical co-operation and assistance, urges States Parties to the Convention, IMO Member States, other appropriate organizations and the maritime industry to provide assistance, either directly or through the IMO, to those States which require support in considering the adoption of, and in subsequently implementing, the Convention.

Convention details
The new Convention provides a sound legal basis for coastal States to remove, or have removed, from their coastlines, wrecks which pose a hazard to the safety of navigation or to the marine and coastal environments, or both. It will make shipowners financially liable and require them to take out insurance or provide other financial security to cover the costs of wreck removal. It will also provide States with a right of direct action against insurers.

Articles in the convention cover:

• reporting and locating ships and wrecks - covering the reporting of casualties to the nearest coastal State; warnings to mariners and coastal States about the wreck; and action by the coastal State to locate the ship or wreck;
• criteria for determining the hazard posed by wrecks, including depth of water above the wreck, proximity of shipping routes, traffic density and frequency, type of traffic and vulnerability of port facilities. Environmental criteria such as damage likely to result from the release into the marine environment of cargo or oil are also included;
• measures to facilitate the removal of wrecks, including rights and obligations to remove hazardous ships and wrecks - which sets out when the shipowner is responsible for removing the wreck and when a State may intervene;
• liability of the owner for the costs of locating, marking and removing ships and wrecks - the registered shipowner is required to maintain compulsory insurance or other financial security to cover liability under the convention; and
• settlement of disputes.

Entry into force criteria
The Convention will open for signature from 19 November 2007 until 18 November 2008 and, thereafter, will be open for ratification, accession or acceptance. It will enter into force twelve months following the date on which ten States have either signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary General.

Resolutions adopted by the conference
The conference adopted three resolutions:

• 1. Resolution on expressions of appreciation - thanks the host country and UNON and designates the convention as the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007.
• 2. Resolution on compulsory insurance certificates under existing maritime liability conventions, including the Nairobi international convention on the removal of wrecks, 2007 - urges IMO Member States to ensure the entry into force of other liability and compensation conventions, namely the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 and the Protocol to the Athens Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 2002; and invites IMO, specifically the Legal Committee, to develop a model for a single insurance certificate which may be issued by States Parties in respect of each and every ship under the relevant IMO liability and compensation conventions, including the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks.
• 3. Resolution on promotion of technical co-operation and assistance - invites States Parties to the Convention, Member States of IMO, other appropriate organizations and the maritime industry to provide financial and in-kind support to IMO for technical assistance activities related to the adoption and effective implementation of the Convention.

Officers of the Conference
The following were elected as officers of the Conference:

President
Hon. Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Minister for Transport (Kenya)

Vice Presidents
Admiral Miguel Angelo Davena, Permanent Representative of Brazil to IMO (Brazil)
Mr. Eddy Pratomo, Director General for Legal Affairs and International Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)
Mr. Rafal Sylwester Wiechecky, Minister of Maritime Economy (Poland)
Mr. Jassim Mohamed Al-Manai, Assistant Chairman for Marine Ports Affairs, Customs and Ports General Authority (Qatar)
Professor Lee-Sik Chai, Dean of Korea University Law School (Republic of Korea)

Chairman, Committee of the Whole
Mr. Jan De Boer, Senior Legal Counsel, Ministry of Transport (Netherlands)

Vice Chairmen, Committee of the Whole
H.E. Mr. Julio Cesar González Marchante, Ambassador of Cuba to Kenya and Permanent Representative of Cuba to UNEP and HABITAT (Cuba)
Mr. Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers' Council (Ghana)

Chairman, Drafting Committee
Mr. Mark Gauthier, Acting General Counsel of the Maritime Law Secretariat of the Department of Justice (Canada)

Vice Chairman, Drafting Committee
Mrs. Tang Guomei, Maritime Counsellor, Embassy of the People's Republic of China, London (China)

Chairman, Credentials Committee
Mr. George M. Arku, Permanent Representative of Liberia to IMO (Liberia)

The Diplomatic Conference was attended by delegations from 64 IMO Member States, as well as by observers from one Associate Member, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, two intergovernmental organizations and four non-governmental organizations. It was organized with the support of the Government of Kenya and UNON and was the first such event that IMO has held in Africa.

Briefing 12, 22 May 2007

For further information please contact:
Lee Adamson, Head, Public Information Services on 020 7587 3153 (media@imo.org) or
Natasha Brown, External Relations Officer on 020 7587 3274 (media@imo.org).

The theme for World Maritime Day 2007 is "IMO's response to current environmental challenges".
The theme was chosen to give IMO the opportunity to focus on its environmental work (both of the past and present) and thus intensify its efforts to add our contribution to that of the international community to protect and preserve the environment before it is too late.