Members of three key regional maritime security agreements*, which IMO has helped to establish, are undergoing training on tackling maritime crime in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (10-28 March 2019).
Thirty participants from 24 countries** are learning theoretical and practical skills to deal with piracy/robbery against ships, drug trafficking, marine terrorism, weapons smuggling, human trafficking and more.
The course is organized by IMO and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the Jeddah Amendment to Djibouti Code of Conduct and conducted by experts from the Saudi Arabia Border Guard, UNODC, INTERPOL and IMO.
The training is taking place at the Mohammed Bin Naif Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies and is the first of three training workshops to be organized by IMO and the Saudi Border Guard in Jeddah during 2019 – with financial assistance from Saudi Arabia.
The series of workshops will enable participants from different regions to share ideas and best practices in order to promote maritime security.
* The Djibouti Code of Conduct; the West and Central Africa Code of conduct; and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)
** Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, the Sudan, Cabo Verde, Sri Lanka, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen
Guyana is the latest country to benefit from IMO’s continuing work to strengthen oil spill response capacity in the Wider Caribbean Region.
Guyanese officials from 28 different government agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local industry representatives took part in the REMPEITC-Caribe* training workshop (18-20 March) funded by IMO. Participants assessed Guyana’s oil spill readiness programme and further developed the National Contingency Plan for the country.
The workshop supports continued efforts by the Government of Guyana to ratify international conventions, develop contingency plans, and enact domestic oil spill legislation.
The event followed a sub-regional training which took place in St Kitts and Nevis last week and further workshops to support the Wider Caribbean Region on oil spill preparedness will be taking place throughout the year.
* The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean
Increased maritime traffic as well as offshore oil and gas industries in west and central Africa means more risks of oil spill in the region. To strengthen the capability for preparedness and response of a potential oil spill, a workshop is underway in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (18-21 March). The event aims to help participants with to ratify and effectively implement IMO conventions relating to oil pollution and liability and compensation.
Participants will be trained on how to best transpose IMO treaties into domestic laws. The workshop will also look at the technical context by which these conventions operate and the challenges they aim to address. The workshop will improve the capacity of these countries to protect their marine and coastal resources at risk from an oil pollution incident. The workshop is organized by the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF).
A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S and the Panama Canal Authority are the latest entities to join the IMO-supported Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA). The GIA now has 18 members, including leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, oil companies and ports.
The new members signed up to the GIA during the fifth meeting of the GIA Taskforce at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (15 March).
The GIA Taskforce meeting (photos) progressed work on several on-going projects, including on the validation of performance of Energy Efficiency Technologies, the assessment of barriers to the uptake of Just-in-Time Operation of ships and resulting emission saving opportunities from its effective implementation, as well as work on the current status and application of alternative fuels in the maritime sector and barriers to their uptake. The Taskforce was also shown a preview of an open access E-Learning course on the Energy Efficient Operation of Ships, which is expected to be completed and launched later this year.
The Taskforce also formalized the extension of the GIA until 31 December 2019 and agreed to develop a White Paper outlining a vision and potential priority areas for the GIA.
The GIA is an innovative public-private partnership initiative of the IMO, under the framework of the GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project that aims to bring together maritime industry leaders to support an energy efficient and low carbon maritime transport system.
The latest in a series of workshops on developing a national maritime transport policy has been held in Accra, Ghana (13-15 March). IMO is promoting the development of national maritime transport policy as a means to bring all relevant stakeholders together, and create a policy to achieve the maritime vision of a country and ensure that the sector is governed in an efficient, sustainable, safe and environmentally sound manner. This can help ensure a coordinated approach to a sustainable maritime transport sector - which in turn can contribute to the country’s sustainable socio-economic development and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. (Watch the NMTP video here.)
The Accra workshop involved participants from nearly 20 institutions, including ministries, state agencies and stakeholder agencies. Ghana has recently revised its National Transport Policy, which itself includes policy goals and objectives relating to the maritime transport sector. The workshop participants adopted a set of conclusions, among which they urge the relevant national authorities to initiate and lead the process for the development and adoption of a national maritime transport policy and related strategy.
The workshop was organized by IMO, in close cooperation with the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ministry of Transport, with the active involvement of the World Maritime University (WMU). IMO and WMU officials facilitated the workshop.
Emerging maritime challenges were at the forefront of discussions at the 11th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting (ISM) on Maritime Security in Da Nang, Viet Nam, (14-15 March).
Participants had the opportunity to exchange views on regional maritime issues, review progress of their maritime security work plan, and discuss proposed activities over the coming year.
IMO took the opportunity to update ARF members on IMO's work in Asia and told senior maritime officials of potential future technical cooperation projects in the region. IMO also talked about improving the implementation, among ASEAN members, of maritime security measures, including the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS).
The forum also discussed three priority areas, namely maritime security and cooperation; safety of navigation; and marine environment and sustainable development. More specifically they looked at patrols in the Sulu Sea, the importance of international cooperation and capacity building, as well as managing cyber risks in the shipping industry.
The meeting was chaired by Australia, Viet Nam and the EU.
Training is underway for oil spill response managers in the wider Caribbean region at a course* in St Kitts and Nevis (11-14 March).
Participants from 15 countries** are attending the IMO-funded event, which is focused on tactical aspects of spill preparedness and response, and applying incident management systems to assist effective coordination of spill response. The event is showcasing success stories of several countries in ratifying relevant international preparedness and response conventions, adopting national oil spill legislation and developing oil spill response capacity.
This training course supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14 – Life Below Water, by developing capacity to protect marine and coastal ecosystems.
The course is taking place under the auspices of REMPEITC-Caribe, the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean, which was set up under the UN Environment’s Regional Seas Programme for the Caribbean.
* IMO-OPRC (Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) Level 2 Training Course
**Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
A new set of publicly-available guidelines for monitoring plastics and microplastics in the oceans will help harmonize how scientists and others assess the scale of the marine plastic litter problem.
The Guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean have been published by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), a body that advises the United Nations system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection. The guidelines cover what to sample, how to sample it and how to record and assess plastics in the oceans and on the shoreline, including establishing baseline surveys. They include recommendations, advice and practical guidance, for establishing programmes to monitor and assess the distribution and abundance of plastic litter, also referred to as plastic debris, in the ocean.
The guidelines include common definitions for categories of marine litter and plastics, examples of size and shape, how to design monitoring and assessment programmes, sampling and surveys. Sections cover citizen science programmes - which involve members of the public in marine litter surveying and research. There are detailed chapters on monitoring sea surface floating plastic and plastic on the seafloor.
The full set of guidelines is available to download free-of-charge from the GESAMP website here.
The guidelines can be used by national, inter-governmental and international organisations with responsibilities for managing the social, economic and ecological consequences of land- and sea-based human-activities on the marine environment.
The guidelines are a response to the hitherto lack of an internationally agreed methodology to report on the distribution and abundance of marine plastic litter and microplastics and directly contribute to the UN SDG Goal 14 on the oceans. Specifically, the guidelines are a response to target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including plastic debris and nutrient pollution.
Understanding the impact of plastic litter found at sea and how to get rid of it was at the heart of discussions in Nairobi Kenya, (11-15 March) at a side-event called Sea-Based Sources of Marine Litter, in the margin of the UN Environment Assembly.
Sea-based sources of marine litter, in particular from the fishing and shipping industries are a significant component of marine litter with severe impacts on the marine environment, food security, animal welfare and human health, safety and livelihoods.
IMO addressed the audience, showing how it plans to further tackle the issue through its action plan, adopted in 2018, which aims to enhance existing regulations and introduce new supporting measures to reduce marine plastic litter from ships.
Even though IMO pioneered the prohibition of plastics' disposal from ships anywhere at sea almost 30 years ago, it is constantly reviewing practices in order to improve them. More details about its action plan was shared at the event, such as the use of adequate reception facilities at ports and terminals for the reception of garbage and its recommending that "all shipowners and operators should minimize taking on board material that could become garbage".
A minute of silence was observed, in honour of fellow UN colleague Joanna Toole, who had planned to be in attendace at this event, but was sadly involved in the tragic Ethiopian airline crash.
The event was co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Environment, the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) the Ocean Conservancy and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative.
IMO contributes to the protection of biodiversity through its Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, which requires ships to manage their ballast water to limit the spread of potentially invasive aquatic organisms. Work on the experience-building phase of the BWM Convention (EBP) was highlighted at the annual meeting (6-8 March) of the joint International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) and IMO (ICES/IOC/IMO) Working Group on Ballast and Other Ship Vectors, which was held in Weymouth, United Kingdom. The group provides scientific support to the development of international measures aimed at reducing the risk of transporting non-native species via shipping activities.
The experience-building phase involves data gathering and analysis and the group discussed sampling and analysis work conducted by its members that could be submitted to the EBP. The group also discussed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for collection of treated ballast water samples, which were developed by the group and agreed by IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) to be included in the data gathering and analysis plan for the EBP. Moreover, the group highlighted progress in the development of a standard for ballast water monitoring equipment, which is expected to be further discussed by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
IMO’s Biofouling Guidelines also address bioinvasions via ships’ hulls and contribute to protecting the ocean environment. The group discussed the review of the Biofouling Guidelines, which is to be undertaken by the PPR Sub-Committee. The group will input its views into this work. The review of the guidelines comes as IMO begins to implement a global project to build capacity in developing countries for improved implementation of biofouling management. The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships Project was launched in 2018.
On International Women’s day 2019 (8 March), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is putting the spotlight on women in the maritime sector. This year, IMO’s World Maritime Day theme is "Empowering Women in the Maritime Community", giving particular resonance to this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations.
The global 2019 theme for International Women’s Day - Think equal, build smart, innovate for change - focuses on innovative ways in which gender equality and the empowerment of women can be advanced, in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.
IMO is committed to gender equality and advancing women in the maritime sector. IMO’s Women in Maritime programme has, over the past three decades, helped women reach leadership positions in the maritime sector and bring a much-needed gender balance to the industry by giving them access to high-level technical training.
Today, IMO launches a video trailer for a forthcoming film which will showcase success stories of how IMO’s Women in Maritime programme has benefitted women in ports, on the shoreside and on ships. A series of profiles of individual women also launches today, helping to inspire the next generation.
The trailer and profiles were unveiled to delegates to the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment meeting and IMO staff, who gathered to celebrate International Women’s Day.
A regional workshop has provided senior maritime administration officials in Central America with the latest information on current and future developments at IMO. The training was organized by IMO and the Central American Commission on Maritime Transport (COCATRAM) in Medellin, Colombia (4-6 March).
The 24 participants* received detailed information about the activities within the IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) aimed at building capacity in the region to comply with international rules and standards related to maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution. The workshop also provided a platform for information exchange between Central America maritime administrations and facilitated the identification of technical assistance priorities for the region for the 2020-2021 biennium.
In the region, technical assistance and capacity building led by IMO will focus in the next two years on IMO’s search and rescue, pollution prevention (MARPOL) and Facilitation Conventions as well as on the development of national maritime transport policies (NMTP).
The Regional Workshop for Senior Maritime Administrators of the Operative Network of Regional Cooperation of Maritime Administrations in Central America (ROCRAM-CA) was hosted by the Maritime Authority of Colombia (DIMAR). Following the training, the V Extraordinary meeting of ROCRAM-CA also took place in Medellin (7-8 March).
* From Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. IMO, through COCATRAM, sponsored the participation of 11 participants through the Technical Cooperation Fund.
Sharing information among the various different agencies involved is vital for maintaining maritime security, especially where there is a strong multi-national element. That’s why IMO is running a workshop in Djibouti on maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area.
The participants* are developing best practices to help develop common templates and standard operating procedures for sharing security-related information including on maritime crimes, legal frameworks, training programmes and national initiatives. These templates will form part of a toolkit to support collaboration between the existing reporting framework under the Djibouti Code of Conduct DCoC (a regional agreement against maritime crime in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean area which IMO helped to establish) and newly established centres in Madagascar, Seychelles and Saudi Arabia.
The activity supports the commitment by Member States in the region to build response capabilities at both a national and regional level, a vital step towards achieving a more safe and secure maritime environment.
The workshop is taking place at the Djibouti Regional Training Centre in Doraleh (3-7 March) and run with important partner agencies UNODC, MSCHOA/UKMTO, EU CRIMARIO and United States Naval Forces Africa. It brings together personnel from national maritime information sharing centres, joint maritime operation centres, maritime rescue coordination centres and other key international partners.
Find out more about the DCoC and Jeddah Amendment, here.
* From Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, United Arab Emirates and Yemen
IMO's Women in Maritime programme and this year's World Maritime Day theme were given increased visibility at the Houses of Parliament, London, UK (4 March 2019), during a session on Women, Peace and Conflict Resolution. Information was provided on the strategic approach IMO has taken towards enhancing the contribution of women as key stakeholders over the last 31 years. IMO is strongly committed to helping its Member States achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls". Some 2% of the world's 1.2 million seafarers are women.
There is ample evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies, and even countries. Countries with more gender equality have better economic growth. Peace agreements that include women are more durable. Gender diversity in a team often makes for a more effective team i.e. some women are better piracy negotiators as those softer skills are more developed. The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all.
The event was organized by Rotary International.
Draft mandatory regulations to make lifting appliances such as onboard cargo cranes safer are being developed by the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE), which meets this week (4-8 March). The Sub-Committee aims to finalise the draft SOLAS regulations and related guidelines covering design, construction, installation and maintenance of onboard lifting appliances and anchor handling winches. The rules are intended to help to prevent accidents and harm to operators and damage to ships, cargo, shore-based structures and subsea structures, as well as the marine environment.
On fire safety matters, the Sub-Committee is working to minimize the incidence and consequences of fires on ro-ro spaces and special category spaces of new and existing ro-ro passenger ships. Current SOLAS regulations and associated codes are being reviewed. The meeting is expected to further develop draft interim guidelines and draft amendments to the SOLAS Convention and associated Codes. The Sub-Committee will also develop amendments to relevant guidelines for the approval of fixed dry powder systems used on ships carrying liquefied gases in bulk.
Agenda items related to life-saving appliances and arrangements include the work to develop the goal-based standards safety-level approach for the approval of alternative designs and arrangements for regulations on life-saving appliances. The Sub-Committee is also expected to finalize draft amendments to the Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code on ventilation requirements for survival craft and related draft amendments to the Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances, to ensure a habitable environment is maintained in such survival craft. Another item on the agenda is the finalization of draft Interim guidelines on life-saving appliances and arrangements for ships operating in polar waters, to support the implementation of the mandatory Polar Code.
On-shore power supply is another item on the agenda. A correspondence group will report on its work to develop draft guidelines on safe operation of on-shore power supply to ships, also known as “cold ironing”, “alternative maritime power” and “shore-side electricity”. The Sub-Committee is expected to consider whether there is a need for relevant amendments to SOLAS. Plugging a ship into shore-side power - and turning off onboard generators - is one solution to reducing air pollution from ships, as well as limiting local noise.
The SSE 6 meeting was opened by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Dr. Susumu Ota (Japan). See photos.
The second in a planned series of interactive workshops to prepare countries for a wide range of potential threats and security situations has been held, in Veracruz, Mexico (26-27 February). The interactive Port Facility Security/Port Security Officer Tabletop Exercise was run by IMO in collaboration with the Organization of American States Inter American Committee Against Terrorism (OAS-CICTE), following a successful pilot in Panama 2018.
Participants in Mexico took part in a simulation exercise, designed to allow port facility security officers to develop their decision making skills in different situations, ranging from the simple to more complex challenges that require intervention and coordination with other departments or management of their respective international port or ports with the respective authorities.
The aim is to roll out this workshop in other Member States of the OAS in the future, through a collaboration between CICTE and Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) of the OAS, and IMO.
Ahead of the workshop, high level representatives of the relevant agencies with key roles in maritime and port security in Mexico met in Mexico City, Mexico (21 February) to discuss the need for better coordination and communication and to ensure the implementation of maritime and port security measures. Representatives of a number of different government agencies - including Customs, Environment, Navy, Ministry of Justice, Defence, Police, Transport - explained their role on maritime security and how capabilities could be strengthened by working together. During the meeting, OAS-CICTE briefed the authorities on their visits to the Mexican ports of Ensenada, Mazatlan and Progreso.
Caribbean States and Territories have re-affirmed their commitment to implementing IMO standards for safe, secure and sustainable shipping. This is part of wider efforts to intensify investments and harness the full potential of the oceans, rivers and lakes to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and fight poverty. Ministers responsible for maritime transport and other participants representing the Governments in the region* met at a High Level Symposium (27 February) in Montego Bay, Jamaica, under the theme, “Maritime Transportation: Harnessing the Blue Economy for the Sustainable Development of the Caribbean”. More than 90% of trade in the Caribbean is carried by ship.
Addressing the meeting, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim highlighted the importance of collaboration and cooperation in the region to implement IMO measures and support the achievement of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which the IMO is fully committed.
“The achievement of these goals requires strong collaboration and cooperation among all stakeholders. Our understanding of sustainable development today embraces a concern both for the capacity of the earth’s natural systems and for the social and, not least, economic challenges faced by us all. A prosperous, smart and green shipping industry can contribute to a blue economy from which we will all benefit,” Mr. Lim said.
The High Level Minister Symposium adopted a resolution, which highlights the need for commitment at the highest policy making level in order to harness the potential of the blue economy. The resolution supports IMO’s initiative for Member States to develop national maritime transport policies, recognising the vital role that a structured maritime transport policy contributes towards sustainable growth and employment in the maritime sector.
During his visit to Jamaica, Secretary-General Lim visited the Caribbean Maritime University in Kingston, Jamaica, where he toured the facilities and met cadets.
Mr. Lim also met the Hon Robert Montague, Minister of Transport and Mining, Jamaica, and host of the High Level Minister Symposium and Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Jamaica.
Following the symposium (27 February), senior maritime administrators in the region met for a Regional Workshop, in Montego Bay Jamaica, from 28 February to 1 March, facilitated by IMO and chaired by Jamaica. The workshop covered the latest regulatory and other developments in the international maritime sector in the Caribbean Region. The workshop was designed to provide Caribbean maritime administrators with the latest information on current and future developments at IMO and to facilitate the exchange of information between Caribbean administrations. The workshop also identified the development of a list of technical assistance priorities for the region for the 2020-2021 biennium.
*Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Curacao, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
The barriers and incentives relating to the uptake of alternative fuels in the shipping industry were in the spotlight at a roundtable meeting of IMO’s Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) at IMO Headquarters, London (28 February).
Experts from across the maritime industry were brought together to discuss successful incentives in other transport sectors and how they might be applied to shipping and ports. The group discussed economic, technological and institutional barriers that are hindering greater market penetration of cleaner fuels. These include capital and operating costs, uncertainty over life-cycle emissions, lack of operational experience in the use of new fuels, onboard fuel storage, availability of fueling infrastructure as well as legal or regulatory barriers. Possible incentive schemes for the maritime sector, as well as potential challenges in their application, were considered at the roundtable. Examples of such schemes were given, including an incentivization scheme in the United Kingdom to promote the uptake of renewables as well as lessons learned from the Norwegian NOx Fund. Participants deliberated how ship owners could be incentivized to use alternative fuels, as well as incentives for alternative fuel supply and infrastructure development. The group collated lessons learned and key principles that could be considered for any future incentive schemes for the maritime sector. The work undertaken at the roundtable specifically contributes to one of the short-term measures defined in IMO’s Initial GHG Strategy, on “incentives for first movers to develop and take up new technologies”. The Strategy recognizes that technological innovation and the global introduction of alternative fuels and/or energy sources for international shipping will be integral to achieving zero-carbon shipping.
How can green technology and innovation help deliver IMO’s initial strategy on reducing GHG emissions from ships? This was one of the questions being addressed this week at the Greentech in Shipping Global Forum in Hamburg, Germany (26-27 February).
Speaking at the conference, IMO’s Camille Bourgeon addressed maritime sector experts in green technology and innovation, saying that their work will be important in delivering IMO’s Initial GHG Strategy and achieving the goal to make shipping carbon free. The Strategy, adopted by IMO Member States last year, makes a firm commitment to a complete phase out of GHG emissions from ships, a specific linkage to the Paris Agreement and a series of clear levels of ambition, including at least a 50% cut in emissions from the sector by 2050. Mr. Bourgeon said that “these are ambitious targets, and technology will play a key role towards low- and zero-carbon shipping in the future, including in technological innovation in alternative fuels and energy sources”. He said that it is encouraging to see so many people working in companies, classification societies and research groups exploring new solutions, and that the forum gives opportunity for industry stakeholders to further discuss such solutions – from alternative fuels, to engine technology, post-combustion devices, energy-saving technologies and more. Find out more about IMO’s work on low carbon shipping and air pollution control, here.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the latest State to accede to the IMO instrument providing rules for the prevention of air pollution from ships and energy efficiency requirements. This brings the total number of ratifications of MARPOL Annex VI to 93, representing 96.6% of world merchant shipping tonnage.
MARPOL Annex VI limits the main air pollutants contained in ships exhaust gas, including sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. It also includes energy-efficiency measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
Ms. Rawdha Al Otaiba, Deputy Head of Mission of the UAE to the United Kingdom, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (20 February) to deposit instrument of accession.
IMO's treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling has received another boost. The Netherlands has become the eighth country to become a Party to the Hong Kong Convention.
The Convention covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.
Under the treaty, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a "Ship Recycling Plan", specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory.
Mr. Dick Brus, Directorate for Maritime Affairs of the Netherlands, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (20 February) to deposit the instrument of acceptance.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has called for Member States and the entire maritime sector including shipping and ports, to come on board to achieve the ambitions set out in the historic IMO initial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, adopted last year. The strategy makes a firm commitment to a complete phase out of GHG emissions from ships, a specific linkage to the Paris Agreement and a series of clear levels of ambition, including at least a 50 per cent cut in emissions from the sector by 2050.
“We need to focus on technology transfer and research and development; we need expertise; we need IMO’s Member States to come together as one; we need the Member States to bring forward concrete proposals to IMO. We need to involve all maritime sectors – not just shipping. Investment in port infrastructure is just as important,” Secretary-General Lim said. He was speaking at the High Level Conference on Climate Change and Oceans Preservation, in Brussels, Belgium (19 February). The strategy includes a series of candidate measures that might be applied to achieve these targets in the short, medium and long terms. The detailed work of agreeing which of these will actually be adopted to enable these ambitions to be achieved is now under way.
Mr. Lim said that the initial steps - the candidate short-term measures - are likely to include strengthening the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Shipboard Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP) for ships, as well as gathering information under the fuel-oil data collection scheme.
In the mid-term (before 2030), he highlighted the need to make zero-carbon ships more attractive and to direct investments towards innovative sustainable technologies and alternative fuels. In this context, the reduced sulphur limit for ships’ fuel oil, which enters into force on 1 January 2020, “should be seen as not only a landmark development for the environment and human health but also as a proxy "carbon price" – increasing the attractiveness of lower-carbon fuels or other means of propulsion for ships”.
The Conference was opened by Mr. Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium, and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
On the sidelines of the Conference, Secretary-General Lim met H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. Monaco hosts the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). IMO and IHO collaborate on a number of areas, particularly when it comes to the provision of hydrographic charts for ships.
Mr. Lim also met, separately, Mrs. Emma Navarro, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, and Mrs. Magda Kopczynska, Director for Innovative and Sustainable Mobility in the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport within the European Commission.
IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) meets this week (18-22 February) at IMO headquarters. The meeting will focus on finalizing draft Guidelines on consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI. The aim of the Guidelines is to assist in the preparations for and uniform implementation of the lower limit for sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil, which will take effect on 1 January 2020 and will have a significant beneficial impact on human health and the environment. The meeting will also consider draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI (related to fuel oil samples and testing and verification of fuel oil sulphur content) and draft amendments to associated port State control and onboard sampling guidelines. IMO has already issued ship implementation planning guidance, to help shipowners prepare for the new limit. Among other agenda items, the Sub-Committee will begin its work to develop measures to reduce the risks of use and carriage of heavy fuel oil as fuel by ships in Arctic waters. In addition, work on identifying appropriate control measures to reduce the impact on the Arctic of Black Carbon emissions from international shipping will also continue. The Sub-Committee will address the IMO Convention for the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS Convention), which prohibits the use of biocides using organotin compounds. A comprehensive proposal to amend annex 1 to the AFS Convention to include controls on the biocide cybutryne will be considered. The meeting will also consider revisions to guidelines for the provisional assessment of liquid substances transported in bulk; and is expected to finalize the draft guide on practical implementation of the pollution prevention and response treaties (OPRC Convention and the OPRC-HNS Protocol). The Sub-Committee will also continue its review of the 2015 Guidelines on Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems. The meeting was opened by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Mr Sveinung Oftedal (Norway). Click for photos.
Experience with implementing the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, which aims to prevent the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species, is now underway. IMO’s participation at the Global TestNet 10th annual meeting (14-15 February) provided an opportunity to highlight a new module on IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), which allows port States, flag States and other stakeholders to gather, prepare and submit data on ballast water sampling and chemical and biological analysis. Analysis of such data will allow a systematic and evidence-based review of the requirements of the BWM Convention and potentially the development of a package of amendments to the Convention. Ballast Water Management Convention requires ships to manage their ballast water and sediments to a defined standard.
IMO participation at the meeting covered all the latest regulatory developments related to anti-fouling systems and biofouling. IMO is considering a proposal to amend the IMO Convention for the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS Convention) to include new controls on the biocide cybutryne. Currently, the AFS Convention prohibits the use of biocides using organotin compounds.
IMO is also reviewing IMO biofouling Guidelines, which provide a globally-consistent approach on how biofouling should be controlled and managed to minimize the transfer of invasive aquatic species through ships’ hulls. A new global GloFouling project has been launched, to drive actions to implement the guidelines. The project will also spur the development of best practices and standards for improved biofouling management in other ocean industries.
The Global TestNet is a forum of organizations involved in standardization, transparency and openness of land-based and/or shipboard testing for the certification of ballast water management systems