20.1 In accordance with rule 17 of the Rules of Procedure, the Committee unanimously re-elected Mr. Andreas Chrysostomou (Cyprus) as Chairman and Mr. Gabriel Fernandez (Panama) as Vice Chairman for 2004.

　

　

21.1 The Committee recalled that, because of lack of time, MEPC 48 postponed consideration of a number of documents to this session and decided to deal with those documents first.

　

　

21.2 The Committee noted the recommendations developed at the IMO/UNEP Workshop presented in the annex to document MEPC 48/20, which emphasized the importance of dealing with the provision of reception facilities and sewage from cruise ships.

　

　

21.3 The Committee noted that document MEPC 48/20/2 had been superseded by a new document (MEPC 49/21).

　

　

21.4 The Committee noted the information on the initiation of the GEF/World Bank/IMO Project on the Development of a Regional Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) in the East Asian Seas (MEPC 48/INF.17).

　

　

21.5 The Committee noted the information provided by the Secretariat in document MEPC 49/21 that, in 2002, the 24th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention 1972 developed reporting procedures of observed dumping incidents that may be in violation of international ocean dumping treaties, i.e., the London Convention 1972 and the 1996 Protocol thereto. A draft of the reporting procedure was submitted to MEPC 48 as MEPC 48/20/2 but the Committee had no time at that session to provide comments.

　

21.6 The Committee also noted that when the Consultative Meeting developed these procedures, it also agreed that overlap should be avoided with other marine reporting systems, i.e., reporting of possible discharges under Protocol I of MARPOL 73/78 and OPRC 90, as reflected in IMO resolution A.851(20).

　

21.7 The Committee also noted that when the 24th Consultative Meeting approved the reporting procedures, it noted that some practical issues of implementation of the procedure had not yet been fully addressed and it agreed to invite the Committee to provide comments. After discussion, the Committee agreed that the reporting procedure in MEPC 49/21 can be distributed by the Secretariat for use later in 2003.

　

　

21.8 The Committee noted the information in document MEPC 49/21/1 on the activities of the Principality of Monaco relating to the Barcelona Conventions, Protocols and Agreements for the protection of the marine environment of the Mediterranean.

　

　

21.9 The Committee noted the information in document MEPC 49/INF.2 on the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) prepared by the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme, which provided a shared vision of the countries and other stakeholders for the East Asian Seas region and the intended actions to be considered by a Ministerial Forum in December 2003.

　

　

21.10 The Committee noted the information provided by Argentina and Chile in document MEPC 49/INF.3 on their activities to enhance the maritime safety and the protection of the environment in Antarctica.

　

　

21.11 The Committee noted the information submitted by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) (MEPC 48/INF.9 and MEPC 49/INF.25) on the Marine Environment Awareness Course at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

　

　

21.12 The Committee noted that the ninetieth session of the Council decided to allow the application of the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) to proceed for further screening by the Committee and the MSC providing that IMHA forward an updated list of its membership not later than 14 July 2003.

　

21.13 The Committee, having received from IMHA an updated list of its membership, decided to establish an informal group on consultative status under the chairmanship of Mr. G. Fernandez (Panama) to consider the application in accordance with the Rules Governing Relationships with Non-Governmental International Organizations and report back to plenary.

　

21.14 Having considered an oral report by the Chairman of the informal drafting group on consultative status, the Committee agreed that consultative status could be granted to IMHA on a provisional basis for four years.

　

　

21.15 The Committee noted that the ex-Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Michael Julian, continued the cause of Marine Environment Awareness in Youth initiated by the Committee and agreed to continue to support such a worthy cause.

　

　

21.16 The Committee, noting that this is the last regular session for the Secretary-General to attend, expressed deep appreciation for his consistent strong support for the work of the Committee since he became Secretary-General of the Organization, especially for his wise guidance to the 1997 Diplomatic Conference which adopted MARPOL Annex VI, to the 2001 Diplomatic Conference which adopted the AFS Convention, to MEPC 46 which adopted the amendments to MARPOL Annex I in the wake of Erika, and to this session of the Committee which agreed on a basic text of amendments to MARPOL Annex I in the wake of Prestige, demonstrating the ability of the Organization to promptly address the need of Member States and the international community to protect the marine environment.

　

21.17 The Committee, noting that this is also the last session for Ms Saara Lintu, Technical Programme Officer of the Marine Environment Division of the Organization, to attend, expressed appreciation for her commendable contribution to the work of the Committee, especially for her work relating to the AFS Convention and PSSA matters.