The Ministerial Statement on Prevention of Marine Pollution

1. As we set sail in the 21^st century, we seize this historic opportunity to meet in Tokyo to reflect upon pollution of the marine environment caused by ships during the 20^th century, and consider solutions to prevent and reduce occurrences in the coming years.

　

2. The sea, our common heritage, is challenged by human activities some of which may result in pollution. Although we acknowledge that shipping is one of the most environmentally friendly transport modes, recent serious incidents, such as those involving the tankers "Nakhodka" and "Erika", focus the world's attention on the global environmental challenges that mankind currently faces. These incidents highlight the tremendous damage caused by sub-standard ships and inappropriately operated maritime transport.

　

3. Many problems caused by sub-standard ships have already been addressed. Under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) various international treaty instruments for the enhancement of maritime safety and for the prevention of marine pollution, such as SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW, have been developed and implemented. As a result, significant progress has been made, and we do appreciate IMO's role and contribution in this respect.

Nevertheless, the world continues to face the loss of human life and property and pollution of the sea, mainly caused by the operation of sub-standard ships which, primarily because of inadequate implementation, do not comply with the relevant international treaty instruments.

　

4. We are aware that a number of proposals, initiatives and measures aimed at eliminating sub-standard ships are considered or implemented around the world, and we support strong port State control measures which many nations have resorted to. Although we acknowledge that strong port State action has the potential to mitigate the impacts of sub-standard ships, we firmly believe that strong flag State action, coupled with responsible action by shipowners and operators, is required to effectively eliminate such ships.

　

5. We are convinced that measures against sub-standard ships should be considered and put in place according to the following basic principles:

　

6. We acknowledge that classification societies play an important role in maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution. It is, therefore, important to effectively monitor their inspection activities carried out on behalf of the flag State through appropriate measures of auditing and supervision. In this regard, we take note of the European Commission's proposal to introduce a more rigorous system for the assessment of the performance of classification societies.

　

7. We recognise that the human element is an important component of quality shipping, which must necessarily involve adequate numbers of qualified personnel, both on board and shore-based. In this regard, we note with appreciation that IMO has placed high priority on its work related to the human element aimed at preventing accidents at sea and mitigating their impact on human life, property and the environment. We will continue to work in this respect through IMO and other appropriate international organisations, in particular the International Labour Organization (ILO) which is also actively involved in human element issues.

　

8. We realise that a number of treaty instruments adopted under the auspices of IMO have not yet entered into force, in spite of their significance and importance. Regarding treaty instruments relevant to us but not yet ratified by our countries, we commit ourselves to consider taking appropriate action toward the ratification and implementation as soon as possible.

　

9. Having discussed issues related to maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution, we have established the attached Action Plan. We will take steps necessary to implement this Action Plan to confirm our resolve to eliminate the threat of sub-standard ships to maritime safety and the marine environment.

　

10. Recognising that the issues in the Action Plan should be considered not only by us but also internationally, we request that the Japanese Minister submit to IMO on our behalf the report of this conference, together with this Statement and the attached Action Plan, for consideration and action as deemed necessary within the framework of IMO.

　

　

We take note of the IMO Assembly resolution A.914(22) requesting the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee, under the co-ordination of the Council, to consider measures to further strengthen flag State implementation. We are convinced that an important measure to implement this resolution is the development and initiation of an audit programme on flag State implementation.

Convinced that this work could best be carried out through IMO, we will submit to IMO in 2002 a proposal for establishing a voluntary and tentative "Model Audit Scheme" on flag State implementation of appropriate IMO technical conventions relating to maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution, such as SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW (with due regard to the provisions of the latter convention relevant to auditing), with the eventual goal of expanding the audit scheme to apply to all flag States.

To this end, we commit ourselves to establish an expert group in early 2002 to prepare the details of the "Model Audit Scheme" for submission to appropriate bodies of IMO during 2002.

　

　

We acknowledge the commitment of many shipping companies to implement and maintain on their ships the highest practical standards of maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution.

We recognise that incentive schemes applied to qualified ships which meet high standards, such as QUALSHIP 21 pioneered by the United States, contribute to maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution.

To this end, we will exchange information on the principles, objectives, effectiveness and other advantages of existing incentive schemes for quality ships, and will develop and promote new or additional schemes, as appropriate.

　

　

We recognise the necessity for improving the transparency of ships' data to enhance maritime safety and prevent marine pollution. We also recognise the desirability of all relevant parties exchanging information on all surveys and inspections of ships and having easy access to such information.

Being committed to further improving ship information transparency, we will co-operate in expanding the contents and use of the EQUASIS website. In addition, we request maritime industry organisations involved in ship inspection, such as classification societies, tanker and oil company organisations, marine insurers and charterers, to make information pertaining to the technical conditions of ships available for this purpose.

Further, we will, in our respective capacities, continue to produce and provide access to ship statistics, as to rate of detentions, deficiencies, rate of accidents, etc., to assist in identifying sub-standard ships, as defined by IMO, and in taking appropriate measures against such ships, and increase our efforts in this regard.

　

　

We are convinced that the effective implementation of the first phase of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code on 1 July 1998 has contributed considerably to improvement of maritime safety and prevention of marine pollution world-wide and to the development of a safety culture and environmental conscience in maritime activities.

We are committed to ensuring that the second phase of implementation of the ISM Code on 1 July 2002 will be equally successful. To facilitate effective and successful global implementation of this second phase, we will take appropriate measures to:

　

　

　

We recognise that consistent port State control activities contribute significantly to the elimination of sub-standard ships.

To further harmonise port State control activities among regions and countries we will, in co-operation with IMO where appropriate, establish enhanced programmes of exchanging port State control officers and holding international meetings among these regions and countries to ensure more consistent port State control procedures.

　

　

We acknowledge that proper flag State implementation and port State control conducted by all maritime nations will contribute significantly to the elimination of sub-standard ships.

Recognising that technical assistance to developing countries will further enhance flag State implementation and port State control, we will provide such assistance, for example training of flag State surveyors and port State control officers, through or in co-operation with IMO, where appropriate.

　

　

We recognise that in order to identify sub-standard ships, there is a need to conduct effective flag State inspection and port State control, including the application of measures such as targeting. Furthermore, we are convinced that there is a need for monitoring the movement of ships identified or suspected to be sub-standard as well as those posing a particularly high risk to maritime safety and the marine environment.

We will develop and establish shore-based monitoring systems designed to monitor the movements of such ships. These monitoring systems should include automatic data transmission systems, such as automatic identification systems (AIS), and information systems. We will co-operate to harmonise such systems, as appropriate. In making use of such monitoring systems, the provisions of UNCLOS, in particular the right of innocent passage, will be observed.

Furthermore, we will take appropriate flag State and port State control measures against sub-standard ships and against ships which on the basis of their monitored behaviour may pose a particular threat to the marine environment and/or maritime safety.