Global organotin ship paint ban to enter force

2364, 19/07/07

A global ban on organotin anti-fouling paints on ships looks set to enter force in August next year after Panama announced at an International maritime organisation meeting in London last week that it would ratify the ban imminently (EED 16/07/07 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/23612).

Organotins such as tri-butyl tin (TBT) are highly toxic to many marine organisms. The IMO ban was adopted over five years ago and requires ratification by 25 member states representing a quarter of world shipping tonnage to take effect (EED 05/10/01 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/10752).

Panama will be the deciding factor: it will be the twenty-fifth country to ratify and will take the proportion of shipping covered from around 17 per cent to well over 25 per cent. It has yet to formally notify the IMO of ratification but told delegates last Thursday it had completed the ratification process internally and wants the ban to take effect in August 2008. This implies it will notify ratification in August this year.

Marine NGO coalition Seas at Risk said EU action had persuaded Panama to ratify the convention. An EU directive will ban TBT on all ships, regardless of their flag, from EU ports from 1 January 2008 (EED 12/05/03 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/14414).

Since 70 per cent of Panamanian-flagged ships pass through EU ports, it is in the country's interest to ensure that all ships everywhere face the same restrictions. "It's a very, very good example of an EU directive being the crowbar that implements [a global law]," a Seas at Risk spokeswoman told ENDS. WWF called the ratification a "tremendous victory" for the marine environment.

Follow-up: See Seas at Risk article

http://www.seas-at-risk.org/news_n2.php?page=118&PHPSESSID=da0d7dd97db540ab9b10079cc3ccacd2,

WWF press release

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/latin_america_and_caribbean/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=108960

and IMO anti-fouling systems pages http://www.imo.org/Environment/mainframe.asp?topic_id=223.