Pollution Prevention

In 1973, IMO adopted the International Convention for the Prevention of

Pollution from Ships, now known universally as MARPOL, which has been
amended by the Protocols of 1978 and 1997 and kept updated with relevant
amendments. The MARPOL Convention addresses pollution from ships by oil; by
noxious liquid substances carried in bulk; harmful substances carried by sea in
packaged form; sewage, garbage; and the prevention of air pollution from ships.
MARPOL has greatly contributed to a significant decrease in pollution from
international shipping and applies to 99% of the world’s merchant tonnage.

Other treaties address anti-fouling systems used on ships, the transfer of alien
species by ships’ ballast water and the environmentally sound recycling of ships.
Reductions of pollution generated by ships have been achieved by addressing
technical, operational and human element issues and are all the more noteworthy
when compared with the significant growth in the world’s shipping industry –
both in the size of the world fleet and the distances that it travels. IMO is
continuously pursuing a pro-active approach to enhance implementation and
enforcement, both by flag and port States, including a pro-active action plan to
ensure that shore-based reception facilities for ship generated waste keep up
with international regulatory requirements.
The Role of the International Maritime Organization
in Preventing the Pollution of the World's Oceans
from Ships and Shipping

Shipping is a key user of the oceans, delivering more than 80 per cent of world
trade, taking ferry passengers to their destinations and carrying millions of
tourists on cruises. Annually, more than 50,000 seagoing ships carry between
them more than 10 billion tons of vital and desired cargoes, including
commodities, fuel, raw materials and consumer goods.

As the United Nations agency responsible for developing and adopting measures
to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent
pollution from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has an
integral role in meeting the targets set out in United Nations Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and
marine resources for sustainable development.

The increase in the number and the size of ships and the volume of cargo carried
over the past five decades has gone hand in hand with the work of IMO, through
its 172 member States, to create the legal and technical framework within which
shipping has become progressively cleaner and safer. Of course, there remains
work to be done. IMO will continue its efforts, in partnership with member States
and other organizations, to implement and support the enforcement of its
regulations.

Formed by means of the 1948 Convention on the International Maritime

Organization, IMO initially focused on maritime safety and navigation. Then, in
the 1960s, the world became more aware of the spillage of oil into the oceans
and seas through accidents or as a result of poor operating practices. Spurred by
major oil pollution incidents, such as the Torrey Canyon disaster off the south-
west coast of the United Kingdom in 1967, IMO embarked on an ambitious
programme of work on marine pollution prevention and response, and on liability
and compensation issues. A key outcome was the adoption, in 1973, of the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, universally
known as MARPOL.

From the start, MARPOL addressed not just pollution by oil from ships (covered in
Annex I) but also noxious liquid substances, such as chemicals, carried in bulk
(Annex II); harmful substances carried in packaged form (Annex III); sewage
discharges into the sea (Annex IV); and the disposal at sea of ship-generated
garbage (Annex V). Under Annex V, a general prohibition applies to discharging all
garbage from ships, while discharging plastics is subject to a total, globally
applicable ban.

Later, in 1997, IMO added a new Annex VI to MARPOL dealing with atmospheric
pollution from ships. Today, Annex VI addresses air pollution from sulphur and
other harmful emissions, such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. In 2011,
IMO became the first international regulator for a transport sector to adopt
globally binding energy efficiency requirements, which apply to all ships globally,
regardless of trading pattern or flag State, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas
emissions from international shipping.

MARPOL Annex VI also incorporates regulations for ozone-depleting substances,

volatile organic compounds, shipboard incinerators, reception facilities and fuel
oil quality. All these measures have a significant, beneficial impact on the
atmospheric environment, and also on human health for people living in or near
port cities and coastal communities.
Under MARPOL Annex VI, Emission Control Areas (ECAs) for sulphur oxide and
nitrogen oxide emissions have been designated, with a strict 0.10 per cent by
mass (m/m) limit on sulphur in fuel oil. In a move that demonstrates a clear
commitment by IMO to ensuring that shipping meets its environmental
obligations, the global sulphur limit out-side ECAs will be cut to 0.50 per cent
m/m, from 3.5 per cent m/m, from 1 January 2020.

Today, the expanded, amended and updated MARPOL Convention remains the
most important, as well as the most comprehensive, international treaty covering
the prevention of both marine and atmospheric pollution by ships, from
operational or accidental causes. By providing a solid foundation for substantial
and continued reductions in ship-source pollution, the Convention continues to
be relevant today.

MARPOL also recognizes the need for more stringent requirements to manage
and protect so-called Special Areas, due to their ecology and their sea traffic. A
total of 19 Special Areas have been designated. They include enclosed or semi--
enclosed seas, such as the Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Red Sea
areas, and much larger ocean expanses such as the Southern South Africa waters
and the Western European waters. This recognition of Special Areas, along- side
global regulation, is a clear indication of a strong IMO awareness of-and total
commitment to-the fundamental importance of protecting and preserving the
world's seas and oceans as vital life support systems for all peoples.

The Antarctic has enjoyed Special Area status since 1992. Oily discharges into the
sea and garbage disposal overboard are totally prohibited. In addition, a total ban
on the carriage or use of heavy fuel oils took effect on 1 August 2011 under a new
MARPOL Annex I regulation. Polar waters also benefit from special measures
under the IMO Polar Code, which entered into force on 1 January 2017 for ships
operating in both Antarctic and Arctic waters.
IMO also has a process to designate Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs),
which are subject to associated protective measures, such as mandatory ship-
routeing systems. There are currently 14 areas (plus two extensions) protected in
this way, including those covering UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites, such as
the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador), the
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (United States of America), and
the Wadden Sea (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands). This long-established
practice of designating Special Areas and PSSAs fully supports the SDG 14 target
to increase coverage of marine protected areas.

While MARPOL specifically targets accidental and operational discharges from

ship operations, IMO also actively addresses marine pollution from land-based
sources, albeit indirectly, through the London Convention on the Prevention of
Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972, and its 1996
Protocol. The Protocol adopts a precautionary approach, prohibiting the discharge
of wastes at sea except for a few specified on a list of permitted wastes, such as
dredged material.

The London Convention and Protocol regime also contributes to climate change
mitigation by regulating for carbon capture and sequestration in subsea
geological formations and providing regulations and guidance on how to assess
proposals for marine geo engineering.

The process of adopting all these measures at IMO begins with structured for a, in
which member States debate, agree and adopt universal measures aimed at safe
and sustainable shipping with minimal adverse environmental impact.

The essential path to implementation then follows. IMO works with various
stakeholders and partners to build capacity and expertise among its member
States to write IMO standards into their own national maritime legislation, and
then to implement and enforce that legislation effectively.

IMO has a long history of working with key donors, including the European Union,
the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and shipping and
maritime organizations such as IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association
for environmental and social issues.

A large number of marine environmental projects have been implemented, with

support from a range of regional organizations, including the Secretariat of the
Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the Regional Marine Pollution
Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, the Regional
Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden, the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment,
the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, and the
South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme.

IMO has pioneered a series of projects based on a global partnership model

known as Glo-X, which is being used to accelerate legal, policy and institutional
reforms in developing countries to implement international conventions while, at
the same time, leveraging private sector partnerships to accelerate research and
development and technological innovations by forming global industry alliances
and facilitating information exchange.

The GloBallast Partnerships Project (2007-2017), a joint initiative of GEF, the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO, has been successful in
assisting developing countries in reducing the transfer of potentially harmful
aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships ballast water and implementing the
IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention. The BWM Convention will
enter into force in September 2017 and will require ships to manage their ballast
water to avoid the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens, and
protect the marine environment, human health, property and resources.

A second global partnerships project is the GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime

Energy Efficiency Partnership project (GloMEEP), which is working in 10 lead pilot
countries (Argentina, China, Georgia, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama,
Philippines and South Africa). It aims to create global, regional and national
partnerships to build capacity to address maritime energy efficiency—in other
words, to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships—and for countries to
bring this into the mainstream within their own development policies,
programmes and dialogues.

Another current project, funded by the European Union, is the Global Maritime
Technology Cooperation Centre (MTCC) Network (GMN), which is establishing a
global network of five MTCCs in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the
Pacific. The aim is to help beneficiary countries limit and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from their shipping sectors. The project will encourage the uptake of
energy efficiency technologies through the dissemination of technical information
and know-how.

Through this network of MTCCs, the project will enable developing countries in
these regions, and in particular, least developed countries and small island
developing States, to effectively implement energy efficiency measures in
maritime transport through technical assistance and capacity building. Both the
GloMEEP and GMN projects will support IMO member States in climate change
mitigation, the key aim of SDG 13.
In other oceans-related partnerships, IMO is a partner in, and secretariat for, the
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental
Protection (GESAMP), which advises the United Nations system on scientific
components of marine environmental protection. GESAMP evaluates the
environmental hazards of harmful substances carried by ships and reviews
applications for "active substances" to be used in ballast water management
systems, thereby providing inputs into the regulatory process at IMO. GESAMP
also provides a systematic overview of new and emerging issues to inform its nine
sponsoring United Nations organizations.

Recent key reports by GESAMP on micro plastic in the oceans have contributed to
the widening knowledge of the sources and fate of marine litter, specifically micro
plastic, in the oceans. IMO is also a co-lead for sea-based sources of marine litter,
together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in the
Global Partnership on Marine Litter, which is managed by the United Nations
Environment Programme.

The IMO track record in minimizing pollution from ships, both into the seas and
oceans and into the atmosphere, speaks for itself. The Organization is fully
committed to working through its member States and with its partners to
continue to develop, maintain and implement a set of global regulations to
ensure shipping's sustainable use of the oceans.

SUBMITTED BY: ROSALYN TULIAO CEPEDA

SUBMITTED TO: CAPT. JAIME MACAWILE