5.1 The Committee recalled that MEPC 54 (20 to 24 March 2006), considered and approved amendments to the revised MARPOL Annex I with a view to adoption at the present session (MEPC 54/21, paragraph 8.16.1 and annex 10). The proposed amendments were circulated by the Secretary-General of the Organization, in accordance with article 16(2)(a) of the MARPOL Convention, under cover of Circular letter No.2706 of 31 March 2006.

　

5.2 The Committee considered document MEPC 55/5 (Secretariat) with the text of the proposed amendment to the revised Annex I relating to the designation of the Southern South Africa sea area as a Special Area. The Committee noted that MEPC 54 had instructed the Secretariat to prepare a draft MEPC Circular for approval by the Committee asking Member Governments and industry to urge oil tankers to refrain from washing their cargo tanks in the new Special Area, on a voluntary basis, pending the entry into force of the amendment which could only take effect from March 2008 in accordance with the provisions of article 16 of the MARPOL Convention. The Committee further noted that the draft MEPC Circular would be dealt with under agenda item 8.

　

5.3 The Committee agreed to refer the proposed amendments to the revised MARPOL Annex I and the draft MEPC resolution on their adoption to the drafting group for review, taking into account comments made in plenary.

　

　

5.4 The Committee recalled that MEPC 54 (20 to 24 March 2006) considered and approved proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex III (the Revised Annex III) with a view to adoption at the present session (MEPC 54/21, paragraph 10.3 and annex 13) and that they were circulated by the Secretary-General of the Organization, in accordance with article 16(2)(a) of MARPOL 73/78, under cover of Circular letter No.2706 of 31 March 2006.

　

5.5 The Committee recalled also that the draft revised Annex III had been agreed by DSC 10 in September 2005 where the timeframe for the entry into force of the revised Annex III was agreed so that the new provisions for marine pollutants would be incorporated in Amendments 34-08 to the IMDG Code, thereby providing a reasonable transition as well as maintaining the recognized process and respecting the cycle of introducing amendments in the IMDG Code (MEPC 54/21, paragraph 10.4 and annex 14).

　

5.6 The Committee considered document MEPC 55/5/1 (Secretariat) providing the text of the proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex III and noted that the revised Annex III would replace in its entirety the current text of Annex III and that its intended entry-into-force date (1 January 2010), as shown on the draft resolution on its adoption, was intended to coincide with that of the IMDG Code Amendment 34-08.

　

5.7 The Committee further noted that India, in document MEPC 55/5/3, had provided comments to the draft revised Annex III proposing to include in regulation 8.1 an offshore terminal as an additional location where port State control inspections on operational requirements take place.

　

5.8 Following debate, the Committee agreed to the proposal by India and instructed the drafting group to take it into account in its review of the proposed amendments and associated MEPC resolution on their adoption.

　

　

5.9 The Committee recalled that MEPC 54 (20 to 24 March 2006) considered and approved amendments to CAS with a view to adoption at MEPC 55 (MEPC 54/21, paragraph 10.13 and annex 15) and that the proposed amendments were circulated by the Secretary-General of the Organization, in accordance with article 16(2)(a) of MARPOL 73/78, under cover of Circular letter No.2706 of 31 March 2006.

　

5.10 The Committee considered document MEPC 55/5/2 (Secretariat) and noted that the proposed amendments to CAS were intended, inter alia, for the case where there was a change of flag, ownership or Recognized Organization affecting an oil tanker holding a valid CAS Statement of Compliance and that change of flag during the course of a CAS survey was also contemplated in the proposed amendments.

　

5.11 The Committee agreed to refer the proposed amendments to CAS and the draft MEPC resolution on their adoption to the drafting group for review.

　

　

5.12 In considering a proposal from Australia (MEPC 55/10/6) on the convenience of issuing an MEPC resolution approving a Recommendation for the compliance with the IMO standards for the rate of discharge of untreated sewage, called for in regulation 11.1 of MARPOL Annex IV, the Committee agreed to task the drafting group on amendments to review and finalize the Recommendation and associated draft MEPC resolution (see also paragraph 10.68).

　

　

5.13 The Committee, in considering the outcome of DSC 11 in document MEPC 55/10/6 (Secretariat), noted the proposed amendments to the Guidelines for the transport and handling of limited amounts of hazardous and noxious liquid substances in bulk on offshore support vessels (the LHNS Guidelines) and agreed to instruct the drafting group on amendments to review and finalize the proposed amendments, and associated draft MEPC resolution on their adoption (see also paragraph 10.98).

　

　

5.14 The Committee agreed to establish a Drafting Group on amendments to mandatory instruments and, taking into account documents submitted, as well as decisions, comments and proposals made in plenary, instructed it to:

　

　

5.15 The Committee considered the report of the drafting group on MARPOL amendments (MEPC 55/WP.7) which met on 11 October 2007 under the chairmanship of Mr. Zafrul Alam (Singapore) and noted the following modifications and editorial adjustments as proposed by the group.

　

　

5.16 The Committee concurred with the group's views and agreed to replacing the term "sea area" with the word "waters" in the designation of this Special Area. The Committee took into account that, in the context of MARPOL, "sea area" was used only in connection with named seas such as the "Mediterranean Sea", the "Red Sea" and others.

　

　

5.17 The Committee noted the concerns of some members of the drafting group regarding the lack of a definition for "offshore terminal" in the text of the Revised MARPOL Annex III which, inter alia, could lead to jurisdiction problems related to port State control being carried out outside the Exclusive Economic Zone.

　

5.18 In this respect the Committee, following an intervention by Japan, recalled that article 5(3) of the MARPOL Convention recognizes that a Party may take action against a ship, for the reason that it does not comply with the provisions of the Convention, in "ports or offshore terminals under its jurisdiction", whilst the term "jurisdiction", in article 9(3) of the MARPOL Convention, "shall be construed in the light of international law in force at the time of application or interpretation" which at the present time refers to UNCLOS.

　

　

5.19 Having resolved the above issues, the Committee approved the report in general and, by consensus, subsequently adopted:

　

5.20 The Committee agreed to bring the amendments to the LHNS Guidelines, adopted by resolution MEPC.158(55), to the attention of the MSC for action as appropriate.

　

　

5.21 The Argentine delegation expressed concern for the perilous tendency to multiply the designation of Special Areas and PSSAs breaking away from their exceptional and restricted character as attributed by Article 211.6 of UNCLOS.

　

5.22 Argentina was of the view that issues relating to the designation of these Areas should engage the participation of the Legal Committee in their review as they affect the rights and obligations under UNCLOS. In the same way, Argentina believed that the PSSA Proposal Review Form submitted by the United States in document MEPC 55/8 should also be referred to the Legal Committee for consideration.

　

5.23 Lastly, Argentina reserved its position in respect of the adoption of amendments to the revised MARPOL Annex I by resolution MEPC.154(55) (designation of the Southern South African waters as a Special Area) as well as in respect of the approval of the PSSA Proposal Review Form.