Implementation of energy-efficiency, ballast water management & ship-recycling rules on agenda for IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee.
The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 64th session from 1 to 5 October 2012, at IMO Headquarters in London.
As well as discussing matters relating to the implementation of energy-efficiency, ballast water management and ship-recycling regulations, the MEPC will also consider formally designating the Saba Bank, in the North-eastern Caribbean area of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA).
Main items for committee consideration are as follows:
Work to continue on energy-efficiency measures for ships
The MEPC is expected to continue its work on further developing technical and operational measures relating to energy-efficiency measures for ships, based on a work plan agreed at the last session. This follows the adoption of the new chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI, which enters into force on 1 January 2013 and includes new requirements mandating the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships.
Ballast water treatment
The MEPC is expected to reiterate the need for those countries that have not yet done so to ratify the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, to achieve its entry into force at the earliest opportunity. To date, 36 States, with an aggregate merchant shipping tonnage of 29.07 per cent of the world total, have ratified the Convention.
Recycling of ships
The MEPC is expected to consider draft Guidelines for Survey and Certification of Ships under the Hong Kong Convention (Survey and Certification Guidelines) and Guidelines for Inspection of Ships under the Hong Kong Convention (Inspection Guidelines), which have been further developed by the intersessional correspondence group on Ship-Recycling Guidelines.
Saba Bank PSSA designation
The MEPC will consider formally designating the Saba Bank, in the North-eastern Caribbean area of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA), following approval in principle at the last session.