Area Specific IMO Tools

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Area Specific IMO Tools
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Overview

• Types of damage caused by ships
• IMO What is it and what can it do for you?
• The Toolbox
• SOLAS ship routing/reporting
• MARPOL
• Special Areas/SOX Emission Control Areas (SECAs)
• Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs)

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Damage Caused by Ships

• Operational discharges
• Accidental or intentional pollution
• Physical damage to marine life and habitats

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Damage Caused by Ships

• Examples of particular issues
• Oil pollution
• Chemicals, Garbage
• Mystery spills
• Anti-fouling systems
• Aquatic nuisance species
• Groundings
• Collisions

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Damage Caused by Ships

• Specific issues pertinent to Gulf of Honduras
  States
• Increased volume of cargo into and out of Region
  (including oil and hazmats), increased ship
  traffic, increased size of ships and deeper draft
• Shipping important to economies of the Region
• Prevention of collisions, groundings
• Pollution prevention
• Navigation safety
• Hydrography outdated, inadequate coverage

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IMO What is it and what can it do for you?

• Specialized Agency of the United Nations
• Motto Safe, secure and efficient shipping on
  clean oceans
• Law of the Sea Convention and IMO
• Competent international organization (see,
  e.g., Article 211)
• Maintain the balance between protection of the
  environment and navigation rights

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IMO

• Participation
• 166 Member States
• Large tonnage States (Panama 21, Liberia 9,
  Bahamas 6, Malta 5, Cyprus 4)
• Regional blocks (GULAC, EU)
• Observers
• Industry
• E-NGOs

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IMO

• Structure
• Assembly, Council, 4 Committees, 11 Subcommittees
• Working Groups, Drafting Groups, Correspondence
  Groups
• Secretariat functions
• Does not develop policy
• Experts to assist and facilitate work of Member
  Governments
• Depositary for conventions

• MARPOL
• COLREGs
• SOLAS
• AFS OPRC
• Ballast Water Managemt
• SUA STCW
• London Convention
• CLC FUND
• Load Lines
• Codes, Guidelines, Circulars, Resolutions

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IMO

• Maritime Safety preeminent importance
• Environmental Protection
• Focus pollution
• Biological concerns with aquatic nuisance species
  transferred through ballast water
• Individual animal issues
• Ship strikes of right whales

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The Toolbox

• Existing measures are the focus of this
  presentation
• Others may be developed in the future, depending
  on identified need
• Examples of tools developed in recent past No
  Anchoring Areas, SOX Emission Control Areas,
  Ballast Water Management Areas

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The Toolbox

• Existing
• SOLAS Chapter V/Reg 10 Ship routing
• e.g., areas to be avoided, traffic separation
  schemes, no anchoring areas
• SOLAS Chapter V/Reg 11 Mandatory Ship Reporting
• MARPOL Special Areas, SOX Emission Control
  Areas
• Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• IMO Ships Routing Guide
• Part A General Provisions on Ships Routing
  (GPSR)
• Parts B-F adopted ships routing systems
• Part G adopted mandatory ship reporting and
  routing systems
• Part H archipelagic sealanes

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Ships routing and reporting systems contribute
  to the safety of life at sea, the safety and
  efficiency of navigation, and/or the protection
  of the marine environment.

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• IMO
• 1. Paras 3.2.2 and 3.3 Must consider in
  adopting/amending a routing scheme whether state
  of hydrography is adequate for purpose of system
• Para 3.4.3 Not adopt/amend where system may
  affect demand for improvement or adjustment in
  NAV aids or hydrographic surveys
• Implementation
• Section 9 IMO and IHOhow to chart routing
  systems doen in acordance with IHO legends,
  symbold, and notes.

• Government actions in planning and designing a
  routing system
• Para 5.2.7 Should take into account aids to NAV,
  hydrographic surveys, charts in the area
• Para 5.7.2 Should consult with authorities
  responsible for NAV aids, hydro surveys, nautical
  pubs
• Para 6.7 State of hydrographic surveys w/n
  limits of routing syst and approaches should be
  such that full info on existing depths of water
  and hazards to nav is available to nautical
  charting authorities.

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Recommended route
• Recommended track
• Precautionary area
• Area to be avoided
• No anchoring area
• Established direction of traffic flow
• Recommended direction of traffic flow

• Traffic separation scheme
• Separation zone or line
• Traffic lane
• Roundabout
• Inshore traffic zone
• Archipelagic sealanes
• Two-way route

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Traffic separation scheme (TSS) A routing
  system aimed at the separation of opposing
  streams of traffic by appropriate means and by
  the establishment of traffic lanes. GPSR, 2.1.2
• COLREGs Rule 10 applies for traffic within the TSS

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Area to be avoided (ATBA) A routing measure
  comprising an area within defined limits in which
  either navigation is particularly hazardous or it
  is exceptionally important to avoid casualties
  and which should be avoided by all ships, or
  certain classes of ships. GPSR, 2.1.12

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• No Anchoring Area (NAA) A routing measure
  comprising an area within defined limits where
  anchoring is hazardous or could result in
  unacceptable damage to the marine environment.
  Anchoring in a no anchoring area should be
  avoided by all ships or certain classes of ships,
  except in case of immediate danger to the ship or
  the persons on board. GPSR 2.1.14

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Recommended track A route which has been
  specially examined to ensure so far as possible
  that it is free of dangers and along which ships
  are advised to navigate. GPSR, 2.1.9.

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Two-way route A route within defined limits
  inside which two way traffic is established,
  aimed at providing safe passage of ships through
  waters where navigation is difficult or
  dangerous. GPSR, 2.1.7.

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• SOLAS, Chapter V/Reg. 11 and MSC.43(64)
• Reporting versus routing
• Less burdensome on industry, thus may be more
  acceptable
• No change in movement of ship
• Info gathering tool
• Need is for contact w/mariner
• More burden on proposing State to develop system,
  no cost to mariners

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Define
• Objectives
• Area and participating ships
• Information requested
• Limited to info essential to accomplish
  objectives
• Generally limited to ships name, call sign, IMO
  no., and position
• If justified, info such as movement through
  system, speed, general categories of hazardous
  cargo, destination

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The Toolbox Ship Routing Reporting

• Shore-Based Authority
• VTS, satellite
• Shall have capability of interaction and assist
  ships with information
• Concerns of cost, proper equipment

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The Toolbox Special Areas SOX Emission
Control Areas

• MARPOL
• Special Areas
• Annex I Oil
• Annex II Noxious Liquid Substance
• Annex V Garbage
• A.927 Annex I only
• SOX Emission Control Areas
• Annex VI, App. III

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The Toolbox Special Areas SOX Emission
Control Areas

• Special Areas are certain sea areas in which, for
  recognized technical reasons relating to their
  oceanographical and ecological conditions and to
  the particular character of ship traffic, the
  adoption of special mandatory methods for the
  prevention of marine pollution is required
• Under MARPOL, Special Areas are provided with a
  higher level of protection than other areas of
  the sea

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The Toolbox Special Areas SOX Emission
Control Areas

• WARNING!!
• Must show that basic MARPOL requirements do not
  provide adequate protection
• Designation does not enter into force unless
  there are adequate reception facilities in the
  area
• Problems gathering data to justify
• Expensive

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The Toolbox Special Areas SOX Emission
Control Areas

• Objective prevent, reduce, and control ships
  SOX air emissions and their attendant adverse
  impacts on land and sea areas
• Specific info that must be provided includes
  action taken on land to address land-based
  sources of SOX emissions
• If approved, ships must use fuel with only a 1.5
  sulfur content

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The Toolbox Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas
(PSSAs)

• To be designated as a PSSA, an area must
• Have certain characteristics (ecological,
  socio-economic, scientific),
• Be vulnerable to damage by international maritime
  traffic, and
• Have protective measures adopted by IMO to
  address the identified vulnerability

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• History
• 1991 PSSA Guidelines adopted
• Revisions
• A.885(21)(1999)
• A.927(22)(2001)
• A.982(24)(2005)

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• IMO-designated PSSAs
• 1. Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait (AUS/PNG
  1990 and 2005)
• 2. Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago (Cuba 1997)
• 3. Marine Area Around the Florida Keys (US 2002)
• 4. Malpelo Island (Colombia 2002)
• 5. Wadden Sea (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands
  2002)

• Paracas National Reserve (Peru 2003)
• Western European Waters (Belgium, France,
  Ireland, Portugal, Spain, UK 2004),
• Baltic Sea Area (Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
  Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden 2005),
  
• Canary Islands (Spain 2005)
• Galapagos Archipelago (Ecuador 2005)

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• Element One Ecologic, Socio-Economic, or
  Scientific Criteria
• Uniqueness Social or economic
• Critical Habitat Cultural Heritage
• Dependency Human dependency
• Representativeness Research
• Diversity Baseline or Monitoring
• Productivity Education
• Spawning/Breeding Grounds
• Naturalness Fragility
• Integrity Bio-geographic
• Only one of these characteristics are necessary
  for designation!!

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• Element Two Vulnerability to damage by
  international maritime traffic
• Document damage or threats of damage
• Talk to mariners, fishermen, NGOs
• Clearly identify the problem in detail

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• Element Three Identification of Associated
  Protective Measures
• Tailor measures to address the threat linkage
  issue, incident history
• Impact on traffic
• Ships to which measure applies
• Hours/Routes
• Number of ships, types of ships, traffic
  patterns, aids to navigation

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• Element Three
• Clearly identify the legal basis for the measure
• Three options
• (1) existing IMO instruments, or
• (2) amendment to existing IMO instrument or
  creation of a new instrument, or
• (3) UNCLOS (e.g., port State, Articles 21, 22,
  42, 43, 211(6)

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• PSSA proposals may only be submitted by Member
  Governments
• Always bear in mind maritime safety and impact on
  shipping traffic
• Must submit draft of application for protective
  measure at same time as PSSA proposal itself

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The Toolbox PSSAs

• There is no legal significance to PSSA
  designation in and of itself. The legal
  significance is derived from the measure because
  it results in a change to ship operations.

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• Thank You!
• Lindy.S.Johnson_at_NOAA.GOV
• 202-482-1400