The International Maritime Organization (IMO) held a meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), 3-7 July. The Committee clarified the ballast water management schedule, progressed GHG and air pollution issues, adopted new NOx emission control areas, designated a further Particularly Sensitive Sea Area and agreed to work on implementation of the 0.50% global sulphur limit.
Ballast Water Management Convention clarity
The MEPC agreed a practical and pragmatic implementation schedule for ships to comply with the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, which aims to stem the transfer of potentially invasive species in ships’ ballast water. The treaty enters into force on 8 September 2017. Currently, the BWM Convention has been ratified by 61 countries, representing 68.46% of world merchant shipping tonnage.
From the date of entry into force, ships will be required to manage their ballast water to avoid the transfer of potentially invasive species. All ships will be required to have a ballast water management plan and keep a ballast water record book. Ships will be required to manage their ballast water to meet the ratified standards.
The D-1 standard requires ships to conduct the exchange at least 95% of their ballast water by volume such that at least 95% of water by volume is exchanged far away from the coast where it would will be released.
The D-2 standard requires ballast water management to restrict to a specified maximum the amount of viable organisms allowed to be discharged and to limit the discharge of specified indicator microbes harmful to human health.
Implementation of the global sulphur limit - scope of work agreed
The MEPC agreed the scope of work needed to achieve consistent implementation of the 0.50% m/m global limit of the sulphur content of ships’ fuel oil, which will come into effect from 1 January 2020.
The Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) has been instructed to explore what actions may be taken to ensure consistent and effective implementation of the 0.50% m/m sulphur limit for fuel oil used by ships operating outside designated SOX Emission Control Areas and/or not making use of equivalent means such as exhaust gas cleaning systems, may facilitate the implementation of effective policies by IMO Member States.
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships
The MEPC continued to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping, with work on track for the adoption of an initial IMO strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships in 2018, in accordance with a Roadmap approved at MEPC 70.
Energy efficiency measures for ships
Energy-efficiency design standards for new ships and associated operational energy-efficiency measures for existing ships became mandatory in 2013, with the entry into force of relevant amendments to MARPOL Annex VI. The Committee was informed that nearly 2,500 new ocean-going ships have been certified as complying with the energy efficiency standards.
Protecting the Arctic from heavy fuel oil – work to begin at MEPC 72
The MEPC agreed to add a new output in its work programme on the development of measures to reduce risks of use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as fuel by ships in Arctic waters. This new output will appear on the agenda for its next session (MEPC 72) in April 2018. Member Governments and international organizations were invited to submit concrete proposals on what type of measures should be developed, including the scope of the work. The use and carriage of heavy fuel oil is banned in Antarctic waters under MARPOL and the IMO Polar Code recommends that States follow the same practice in the Arctic.
Designation of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Indonesia) as a PSSA
The MEPC approved the final designation of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, situated in the Sulu Sea, Philippines as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA), following the adoption by the Maritime Safety Committee of a new Area to be avoided as an associated protective measure. The aim is to reduce the risk of ship groundings in the park, thereby preventing any resulting marine pollution and damage to the fragile coral reef ecosystem, as well as ensuring the sustainability of local artisanal fisheries. This brings the number of marine areas protected in this way to 15 (plus two extensions).
OSV Chemical Code
The MEPC approved the draft Code for the transport and handling of hazardous and noxious liquid substances in bulk on offshore support vessels (OSV Chemical Code), for submission to the thirtieth IMO Assembly for adoption later this year.
Oil pollution model courses approved
Updated IMO Model Courses on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC Model Training Courses) were approved by the MEPC. The OPRC model training courses have been revised to provide up-to-date guidance for preparedness and response to marine oil spills.
Major technical cooperation projects
The MEPC was informed about recent developments with regard to major environment-related technical cooperation (TC) projects. With a view to continuing the technical cooperation efforts in marine biosafety, which started with the GloBallast Partnerships Project which came to an end in June 2017, IMO has secured further funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to prepare a full-scale document for a new global project aimed at assisting with implementation of the IMO Guidelines for controlling and managing ships’ biofouling.
On the sidelines of the MEPC meeting, leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, and oil companies signed up to a new Global Industry Alliance (GIA) to support shipping and its related industries make the transition towards a low carbon future. The GIA has been established under the auspices of the GloMEEP Project, a GEF-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-IMO project to support developing countries implement energy-efficiency measures for shipping.
Meanwhile, the European Union-funded Global MTCC Network (GMN) Project has successfully established maritime technology cooperation centres (MTTCs) in its five target regions - Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America and Pacific. With the goal to support the move towards low-carbon shipping, the MTTCs will focus on capacity-building efforts and implementing pilot projects involving fuel oil consumption data collection and developing low-carbon technologies.
