2.36 It may be noted that many of the most important treaty
instruments relating to maritime safety and prevention of
marine pollution, such as SOLAS and MARPOL, have been
ratified by over 100 States, as shown in the following table:
2.37 In response to the call from UNCED that IMO should
support wider ratification and implementation of relevant
shipping conventions and protocols (paragraph 17.30(a) of
Chapter 1 7 of Agenda 2 l) and being fully aware that there
are still a number of treaty instruments adopted by IMO which
are not in force and that those which are in force still need
more effective implementation, IMO is making even greater
endeavours in this regard and steady progress has been
achieved.
Navigational safety and management of international straits
2.38 Paragraph 17.30(a)(VII) and paragraph 17.31 of Chapter
17 of Agenda 21 requests IMO to promote navigational safety
by adequate chartering of coasts and ship routeing as
appropriate and to address the matter of heavily used
international straights with a view to ensuring compliance
with generally accepted international regulations. IMO has
also made progress in these two areas since UNCED.
2.39 Since 1994 a further number of routeing measures have
been adopted by IMO, including new and amended traffic
separation schemes, areas to be avoided, amendments to the
Rules for vessels navigating through the Straits of Malacca
and Singapore and a partial system of archipelagic sea lanes
in Indonesian archipelagic waters.
2.40 A new regulation 8-1 on Ship reporting systems in
chapter V of the SOLAS Convention entered into force on 1
January 1996. Since then, taking into account the density of
traffic, navigational hazards and the vulnerable and
sensitive environmental nature of the areas concerned, a
number of mandatory ship reporting systems have been adopted
by IMO, including those in "the Straits of Malacca and
Singapore", "the Torres Strait and the Inner Route
of the Great Barrier Reef", and "the Straits of
Gibraltar".
2.41 A new regulation 8-2 on Vessel traffic services in
chapter V of the SOLAS Convention, which was adopted in
1997, is expected to enter into force on 1 July 1999. A
resolution on Guidelines for vessel traffic services was
adopted by the IMO Assembly at its twentieth session in 1997.
A voluntary vessel traffic information service (VTIS) in the
Singapore Strait has been in operation since I October 1990,
and will become part of a mandatory ship reporting system as
of 1 December 1998.
2.42 A resolution on Performance standards for electronic
chart display and information systems (ECDIS) were adopted by
the IMO Assembly in 1995. Production of electronic
navigational charts (ENCs) for such systems by hydrographic
offices is in progress and the overseeing of this is a task
for the International Hydrographic Organization.
