MEPC 43/12
ANNEX 16
STATEMENT BY THE GERMAN DELEGATION ON BEHALF
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES
AND NORTH SEA STATES
The Marine Environment Protection Committee might be aware that Germany, the Member States of the European Union and North Sea States are seriously concerned about acidification and the contribution of SOx emissions from ships in the North Sea. This concern has been recognized by Ministers at the 4th International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea in Esbjerg and more recently in a joint declaration from the Council of Ministers of the European Union and the European Commission accompanying the adoption of a new Community Directive regarding the sulphur content of liquid fuels (excluding bunker fuels). Based on this concern, the European Union Member States and the North Sea States are committed to working within the framework of IMO to establish the North Sea as a SOx emission control area. A number of these States have started the process of ratification of Annex VI. Germany and those States invite other IMO Member States to ratify Annex VI in order to promote its entry into force.
The Community's strategy to reduce impacts of acid rain has demonstrated that measures to reduce emissions from ships are cost-effective compared with measures applied to land-based sources. The relative significance of ship emissions to acidification grows year by year as countries in the European Union and States bordering the North Sea reduce their emissions of acid gases.
In this context, it is the intention of the North Sea States, supported by the European Member States, to submit a formal proposal to MEPC 44 to designate the North Sea as emission control area according to the procedures and criteria laid down in Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention.
