Helcom : New international treaty on wreck removal set for adoption

10.05.2007

Baltic and European news

IMO Briefing 10, 10 May 2007

New international treaty on wreck removal set for adoption

Preview: International Conference on Wreck Removal: 14-18 May 2007, Nairobi, Kenya

A new international convention, which will set out the legal responsibilities under which States can remove hazardous shipwrecks, is expected to be adopted at the end of a five-day Diplomatic Conference to be held from 14 to 18 May 2007 at the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), Kenya.

The meeting will take place under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for safety and security at sea and prevention of marine pollution from ships, and is being organized with the support of the Government of Kenya and UNON.

The Conference, which will be the first such event that IMO has held in Africa, will be opened by the President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency the Honourable Mwai Kibaki.

IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said that "once adopted and in force, the prospective wreck removal convention will fill a gap in international law, by providing a sound legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, from their exclusive economic zones (EEZs), wrecks that may pose a hazard to navigation or, because of the nature of their cargo, to the marine and coastal environments, or to both".

The new convention will make shipowners financially liable and require them to take out insurance or provide other financial security to cover the costs of wreck removal. It will also provide States with a right of direct action against insurers. The Diplomatic Conference is expected to consider a clause that would enable States Parties voluntarily to extend the convention's scope to their territorial seas.

"The adoption of a new instrument with environmental connotations will be especially pertinent this year, when, as the theme for World Maritime Day, we are focussing on 'IMO's response to current environmental challenges'. As part of our action plan in relation to this theme, IMO will be promoting its excellent environmental record, along with the development of new standards to address all possible sources of marine and atmospheric pollution from shipping operations. In this context, therefore, the new convention will, certainly, be seen as yet another important milestone in IMO's efforts to address society's concerns regarding our fragile marine environment," Mr. Mitropoulos said.

Articles in the draft convention cover:

·reporting and locating ships and wrecks - covering the reporting of casualties to the nearest coastal State; warnings to mariners and coastal States about the wreck; and action by the coastal State to locate the ship or wreck; ·determination of hazard - which sets out who is responsible for determining whether a hazard exists when the wreck or ship is beyond territorial waters, based on a list of specific criteria, including depth of water above the wreck and proximity of shipping routes; ·rights and obligations to remove hazardous ships and wrecks - which sets out when the shipowner is responsible for removing the wreck and when a State may intervene; ·financial liability for locating, marking and removing ships and wrecks - the registered shipowner is required to maintain insurance or other financial security to cover liability under the convention; ·financial security - which deals with the security required to cover liabilities regarding claims for compensation under the convention; and ·settlement of disputes.

The text of the draft convention on the removal of wrecks was approved by IMO's Legal Committee at its 92nd session in October 2006.

Briefing 10, 10 May 2007

For further information please contact:
Lee Adamson, Head, Public Information Services on 020 7587 3153 (media@imo.org) or
Natasha Brown, External Relations Officer on 020 7587 3274 (media@imo.org).

(IMO)