Malpelo Island News

A new interactive display on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) has been launched at IMO Headquarters and online at www.pssa.imo.org. A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. To date, IMO has designated 14 PSSAs. The new display and website include videos, pictures, maps, and graphic displays…

Revised regulations for the prevention of pollution of the oceans by sewage from ships have been adopted by IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which met for its 51st session from March 29 to April 2, 2004. The Committee also approved in principle the designation of three new Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs). Other important items on the agenda included follow-up to the adoption of the new Ballast Water Convention, air pollution and ship recycling. The revised MARPOL Annex IV containing regulations for the prevention of pollution by sewage from ships was formally adopted and is expected to enter into force on 1 August 2005.

Ballast water management, air pollution and recycling of ships are amongst the major issues to be addressed by the 47th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) which meets from March 4 to 8 at IMO headquarters in London. The management of ballast water has become an important issue in international efforts to reduce harmful effects from shipping. When a ship takes on ballast water, it may also inadvertently ingest a soup of microscopic aquatic organisms, some of which may be toxic, others potentially harmful if removed from their own local ecosystem and introduced into another when discharged. Alien species that have no natural enemies can reproduce dramatically and cause tremendous damage.

Security issues to fore at IMO safety meeting Maritime security issues are high on the agenda of IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), which meets for its 75th session from May 15 to 24 , as Member States prepare for a Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Security scheduled for December 2002, at which any new or amended legislation could be adopted. Other major issues to be tackled include the adoption of proposed amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended; ongoing work on the safety of bulk carrier ships and large passenger vessels; implementation of the revised STCW Convention; and the adoption of new and amended ships routeing measures.

The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) issued a Marine Circular entitled New Routing Measures other than Traffic Separation Schemes It reports on new routing measures adopted by IMO that will come into effect on December 1, 2002. The measures affect the Tortugas area of the Florida Keys, the Florida Keys generally, Malpelo Island, the Washington coast, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Terra Nova FPSO, and the Shetland Islands.

An extra session of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will be convened in December 2003 to consider the adoption of proposals for an accelerated phase-out scheme for single hull tankers, along with other measures including an extended application of the Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS) for tankers. The proposed amendments to MARPOL 73/78 were discussed during the week-long forty-ninth session of the Committee, ending 18 July. Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General Mr. William O'Neil at the close of the session, Assistant Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos said that the outcome of the intense negotiations on the issue was successful in general terms, although the decisions made were not final, pending the extra MEPC session in December.

historic steps through the International Maritime Organization to create the first U.S. and collisions from large international ships. square nautical miles and is one of only five such areas in the world. Starting Dec. 1, ships greater than 164 ft. in length transiting the zone will be held to internationally accepted and enforceable rules. areas within the zone altogether and abide by three no-anchoring areas within the zone. the Florida Particularly Sensitive Sea Area and address, these protective measures. More than 40 percent of the world's commerce passes through the Florida Straits each year. since 1997. resources while simultaneously supporting shipping and economic growth. Secretary of Commerce Samuel W. the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. from U.S.