1.1 The fifty-first session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee was held at IMO Headquarters from 29 March to 2 April 2004 under the chairmanship of Mr. A. Chrysostomou (Cyprus).

　

1.2 The session was attended by delegations from:

　

　

by observers from the following Members of IMO:

　

by representatives from the following Associate Members of IMO:

　

by representatives from the following United Nations and Specialized Agencies:

　

by observers from the following intergovernmental organizations:

　

and by observers from the following non-governmental organizations:

　

1.3 The Chairman of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), Mr. T. Allan (United Kingdom); the Chairman of the Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC), Captain M.U. Ahmed (Bangladesh); the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG), Mr. Z. Alam (Singapore); the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment (DE), Mr. I.M. Ponomarev (Russian Federation); the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC), Ms. O.P. Lefevre (France); and the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI), Mr. Ki-tack Lim (Republic of Korea) were also present.

　

　

1.4 The Secretary-General welcomed participants and reiterated his plea to the Council and Assembly last year, when he invited all with an interest in the affairs of IMO and the shipping industry to join forces so as to create a safer, more secure and environmentally friendly maritime world.

　

1.5 The Secretary-General recognized that the MEPC had provided a unique forum for the provision of solutions to any emerging marine environmental issues identified by Member Governments, the industry and civil society. The MEPC had been extremely successful in fulfilling its role as the global legislative body responsible for the development and adoption of international rules, regulations and standards aimed at protecting the marine environment worldwide.

　

1.6 The Secretary-General expressed his concern about the slow pace of ratification of pollution prevention-related instruments adopted by IMO in recent years. MARPOL Annex VI, which was adopted in September 1997, was still short by two ratifications to bring it into force. The OPRC-HNS Protocol of 2000 and the AFS Convention of 2001 also need more ratifications to enter into force. In this respect, the Secretary-General expressed the view that as adoption of these new instruments was to fill a gap in the existing legislation, it did not make sense if the instruments were not ratified and implemented. He therefore urged Member Governments to take action to ratify and implement any new instruments IMO adopts as soon and as effectively as possible and expressed his intention to submit a proposal to the next session to provide for an accelerated procedure, similar to that adopted by SOLAS Contracting Governments, to shorten the time period between adoption and entry into force of amendments to MARPOL in exceptional circumstances.

　

1.7 The Secretary-General referred to the spread of terrorist atrocities worldwide and recalled that maritime transport had already been a victim with the Achille Lauro hijacking in 1985 and the tanker Limburg incident in 2002, and that the latter incident had demonstrated clearly the potential for damage to the marine environment if the maritime industry does not take the threat posed by international terrorism seriously and does not effectively implement the measures adopted by the Organization. The Secretary-General urged all parties concerned to intensify their efforts to meet the entry-into-force deadline for the new security regime specified in SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

　

1.8 The Secretary-General noted that the designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea areas was an important issue on the Committee's agenda as it had been invited to consider three new proposals in respect of the waters of the Canary Islands, the Baltic Sea and the Galapagos Archipelago. He drew attention to the fact that the United Nations General Assembly, in a resolution on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, had noted with interest the ongoing discussions in IMO while UNESCO's World Heritage Centre had expressed support for the designation of the Galapagos Marine Reserve as a PSSA.

　

1.9 The Secretary-General stated that the mechanism for identifying and designating clearly defined sea areas for recognized ecological, socio-economic or scientific reasons because they may be vulnerable to damage by international shipping activities was in place, but such a mechanism must, however, balance the need for protection with the legitimate needs of international shipping. He expressed his confidence that, in considering the new proposals, the Committee would give proper attention to all the criteria which would justify the designation of the areas concerned as PSSAs.

　

1.10 Turning to the item on ship recycling, the Secretary-General noted the growing concerns about the effect ship recycling had on the environment as well as its effect on the safety, health and welfare of those involved in the ship recycling industry. He noted, however, that ship recycling was the most environmentally friendly way of disposing of ships at the end of their economic lives. He urged Member Governments with ship recycling industries to take the IMO ad hoc Guidelines fully into account and stated that IMO would continue to co-operate with the International Labour Organization and the Basel Convention in order to achieve a common understanding of the problem and thus identify the required solutions.

　

1.11 With regard to the item on air pollution from ships, the Secretary-General recalled that the Assembly had adopted resolution A.963(23) on "IMO Policies and Practices Related to the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships" which urged the MEPC to take action, amongst other things, on the establishment of a greenhouse gas emission baseline and the development of a methodology for an emission index for ships. The Secretary-General stressed the importance of IMO developing, on an international basis, the necessary mechanisms needed to reduce the emission of such gases from ships.

　

1.12 The Secretary-General recalled the successful adoption of the Ballast Water Management Convention in February this year and urged Member Governments to keep up the momentum engendered by the Diplomatic Conference and develop the guidelines and procedures necessary to ensure global and uniform application of its requirements as a matter of urgency in order to facilitate its entry into force.

　

1.13 The Secretary-General noted that the OPRC/OPRC-HNS Technical Group had met for the first time in the previous week. He welcomed the work of this Group in assisting countries, and particularly developing countries, to establish the national systems needed to be ready for, and to respond to, accidental pollution and looked forward to the Group's work on preparedness and response to chemical incidents which will better equip countries to deal with such incidents and also provide the impetus for them to become parties to the OPRC-HNS Protocol.

　

1.14 The Secretary-General closed his remarks by stating that, with the usual spirit of co-operation, he anticipated that the Committee would arrive at solutions that would serve well the cause of marine environmental protection and the interests of the world maritime world community at large.

　

　

1.15 The Committee noted the report of the Secretary-General that credentials of the delegations were in due and proper order.