・ consistency with the General Provisions on Ships' Routeing;
・ implications for vessel safety;
・ impact on vessel operations; and
・ financial implications for shipowners.
3.3 An application for PSSA identification should address all relevant considerations and criteria in the Guidelines and these procedures, and should include relevant supporting information for each such item.
3.4 The application should contain a summary of steps taken, if any, by the Proposing Member Government to date to protect the proposed area.
3.5 The Proposing Member Government should also include in the application the details of action to be taken pursuant to domestic law for the failure of a ship to comply with the requirements of the Associated Protective Measures. Any action taken should be consistent with the international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
4 CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF PSSAs AND THE ADOPTION OF ASSOCIATED PROTECTIVE MEASURES BY IMO
4.1 IMO should consider each application, or amendment thereto, submitted to it by a Proposing Member Government on a case by case basis to determine whether identification of the area as a PSSA and the adoption of Associated Protective Measures are warranted.
4.2 In assessing each proposal, IMO should take into account the criteria which are to be included in each application as set forth above in section 3.3 of the Guidelines. In particular, IMO should consider:
.1 the full range of protective measures available and determine whether the Associated Protective Measures identified by the Proposing Member Government are appropriate to address effectively the assessed risk of damage to the proposed area by identified international maritime activities and to provide the needed protection;
.2 whether such measures might result in potential significant adverse effects by international maritime activities on the environment outside the proposed PSSA area; and
.3 whether the size of the area is limited to that necessary to address the Identified need.
4.3 The procedure for considering a PSSA Application by IMO is as follows:
.1 the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) should bear primary responsibility within IMO for considering PSSA applications and all applications should first be submitted to the MEPC;
