IMO's response to current environmental challenges
Today (27 September
2007) marks the 30th celebration of World Maritime Day, the annual occasion
when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) leads the world in honouring
shipping. This year the theme for World Maritime Day is IMO's response to
current environmental challenges.
Addressing
the international maritime community in his World Maritime Day message, IMO
Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said that "there is today, quite
rightly, a growing concern for our environment and a genuine fear that, if we
do not change our ways right now, the damage we will inflict on our planet will
render it incapable of sustaining - for future generations - the economy we
have grown accustomed to over the better part of the past two centuries."
"The
environmental credentials of every country and industry are now under sharper
scrutiny than ever before. The pressure is mounting for every potential polluter,
every user of energy and every conspicuous contributor to climate change and
global warming to clean up their act and adopt greener practices."
Mr. Mitropoulos referred to shipping's green credentials as a mode of transport,
pointing out that "the vast quantity of grain required to make the world's
daily bread, for example, could not be transported any other way than by ship.
Both the economic and environmental costs of using, say, airfreight, would be
exorbitantly high. Moreover, set against land-based industry, shipping is a
comparatively
minor contributor, overall, to marine pollution from human activities."
While there
is no doubt that the shipping industry, and IMO, still have more to do in this
respect, there is, nevertheless, an impressive track record of continued environmental
awareness, concern, action, response and overall success scored by the Organization
and the maritime community and industry, Mr. Mitropoulos said, referring to
IMO's work in developing and adopting the International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships, now known universally as MARPOL. Other conventions
adopted by IMO address issues such as the dumping of wastes at sea, the use
of harmful anti-fouling paint on ships' hulls; preparedness, response and co-operation
in tackling pollution from oil and from hazardous and noxious substances; the
management of ships' ballast water to avoid the transfer of alien species, and
the right of States to intervene on the high seas to prevent, mitigate or eliminate
danger to their coastlines or related interests from pollution following a maritime
casualty.
IMO is currently
developing a new mandatory instrument providing legally binding and globally
applicable ship-recycling regulations for international shipping and recycling
facilities, which is due for adoption in the 2008 2009 biennium. And, in May
of this year, IMO adopted a new Convention on the removal of wrecks that
may present either a hazard to navigation or a threat to the marine and coastal
environments, or both.
"But
perhaps the most significant threat to our environment today concerns atmospheric
pollution," Mr. Mitropoulos said. "IMO continues to work towards further
reductions as the evidence mounts and the world becomes more aware and more
concerned about the further damage that might be caused if, from our various
perspectives as Governments, industry and individuals, we do not address the
challenges posed by air pollution, global warming and climate change."
The IMO Secretary-General
noted that a good deal has already been done by the shipping sector to address
emissions, with Annex VI of MARPOL, for example, setting limits on sulphur oxide
(SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ship exhausts; prohibiting deliberate
emissions of ozone-depleting substances; and putting a global cap on the sulphur
content of fuel oil. The annex is currently undergoing a comprehensive review.
IMO has a
work plan to address emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), Mr. Mitropoulos said,
pointing out that, "whether we like it or not, there is no avoiding the
fact that the modern world is utterly dependent on motorized transport systems
that run largely on fossil fuels. Moreover, it is also a fact of life that the
use of fossil fuels carries an environmental burden. An engine burning fossil
fuel will emit a quantity of so-called greenhouse gases (GHGs), principally
CO2, and these emissions are now widely accepted as being significant contributory
factors towards global warming and climate change."
Mr. Mitropoulos said that the wide range of measures to prevent and control
pollution caused by ships and to mitigate the effects of any damage that may
occur, adopted and in development by IMO, were
"all positive proof of the firm determination of Governments and the industry
to reduce, to the barest minimum, the impact that shipping may have on our fragile
environment."
He expressed
concern, however, about the slow pace of ratification of IMO's environment-related
conventions. It took almost eight years, for example, for MARPOL's Annex VI
to reach its entry into force criteria - by which time, it needed to undergo
a substantial review. The 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention is not yet
in force and the 2001 International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling
Systems on Ships will only enter into force in September 2008.
"My
concerns in this area are threefold: first, that by not bringing IMO instruments
into force at a reasonable time after their adoption, their implementation is
delayed, thereby depriving the environment of their beneficial effects; second,
that any further delay in tackling the issues regulated by such instruments
may spur unilateral or regional measures by individual countries or groups of
countries, with all the attendant negative repercussions such actions entail;
and, third, that any prolongation of the situation may lead to ambiguities,
which, in the final analysis, may count against seafarers, the maritime industry
and the environment," Mr. Mitropoulos said.
"The
urgent need to ratify, as soon as possible, not only IMO's environmental but,
indeed, all outstanding Conventions adopted under its auspices, should be promptly
recognized by all the parties concerned. After all, it was thanks to the strenuous
and concerted efforts of the same Governments, working together under the aegis
of the Organization, over long periods of time, that these Conventions were
developed and adopted in the first place," he added.
In conclusion,
Mr. Mitropoulos said that the decision of the IMO Council to select environmental
issues to take centre stage this year, as the theme for World Maritime Day,
was timely and appropriate.
"It
is only very recently that mankind has begun to understand that the planet that
sustains us and gives us life is a fragile entity and that our actions can,
and do, have massive repercussions. That the earth and its resources do not
belong to us and are not ours to squander without thought for the future is
not proving an easy lesson for us to learn, but we are gradually succeeding
- or, at least, waking up to the enormity of the task that confronts us,"
Mr. Mitropoulos said.
World Maritime
Day parallel event in Brazil
The third "Parallel Event" to celebrate World Maritime Day formally
and officially outside of IMO's London base was held in Salvador, Brazil on
Friday, 14 September. The event was held in the form of a technical forum in
which leading figures from the maritime community in Brazil took the opportunity,
in the presence of representatives from several IMO member countries, to outline,
from their perspective, the steps that had been taken in support of the theme
for this year's World Maritime Day, "IMO's response to current environmental
challenges." Speakers from Argentina and the United States of America were
also present at what was an international event of significance.
(See IMO
Briefing 31/2007)
United Nations
Secretary-General's message on World Maritime Day
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also delivered a message for World
Maritime Day, stating that "IMO has helped introduce measures to ensure
that the shipping industry is only a small contributor to the total volume of
atmospheric pollution emissions. I am pleased that IMO is working towards further
reducing harmful emissions from ship exhausts."
"On
this World Maritime Day, let us recognize the crucial role played by the maritime
industry in ensuring global economic growth. And let us promote sustainable
development through the use of safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean
oceans," United Nations Secretary-General Ban said.
(Text of statement: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11166.doc.htm)
Other World
Maritime Day events
Many countries around the world are marking World Maritime Day on the day itself
or on another date.
Bolivia
- World Maritime Day message to be delivered at a special ceremony on 28 September,
organized by the Bolivian Maritime Authority.
Brazil
- celebrations at port captaincies and other agencies nationally on 27 September,
with a ceremony at the Almirante Graça Aranha Training Centro in Rio
de Janeiro attended by the Commander of the Brazilian Navy, Admiral Julio Soares
de Moura Neto and military and civilian authorities as well as representatives
of the maritime community.
Côte
d'Ivoire - World Maritime Day conference held in Jacqueville on 27 September,
for around 300 participants, including speeches and panel discussions. The event
will be attended by the Minister for Transport. Also, the Seafarers' Federation
is organising activities at the Treichville Seamen's Club, on 28 September.
Egypt
- celebrations in all Egyptian ports on 27 September.
Islamic
Republic of Iran - celebrations in Tehran and other Iranian ports on 25
September, organized by the Ports and Shipping Organization of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
Nigeria
- IMO Maritime Awareness Week marked in Nigeria on 8 September, including public
lecture and book launch organized by the Maritime Rights Advocacy Centre.
Portugal
- Forum on the World Maritime Day theme to be held on 27 September in Lisbon,
plus series of events in different locations from 22 September to 4 October.
Saudi
Arabia - Forum on Saudi Efforts to protect the Marine Environment held on
4 September.
United Kingdom - in London, on 27 September, the Honourable Company of Master Mariners and the International Maritime Pilots Association, in partnership with IMO, are hosting a celebration to mark World Maritime Day on board the world maritime heritage ship HQS Wellington in London. (website: www.worldmaritimeday.com).
United States - North American Maritime Ministries host the 2007 World Maritime Day observance on 25 October 2007 in New York (website: http://www.namma.org/)
Congratulatory
messages
The IMO Secretary-General has received congratulatory messages for World Maritime
Day from a number of countries and organizations, highlighting the important
work of IMO in meeting current environmental challenges, including messages
from Argentina, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Venezuela, Russian Federation
and the Greece-based HELMEPA.
Briefing
32, 27 September 2007
_______________________
The full text of the message and background paper for World Maritime Day can
be downloaded on the IMO website in English, French and Spanish. The message
is additionally available in Arabic, Russian and Chinese. An Audio MP3 file
of the message can be downloaded in English.
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).
