Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 10), 24-28 April 2023 - opening
ADDRESS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AT THE OPENING OF THE TENTH SESSION OF THE SUB‑COMMITTEE ON POLLUTION PREVENTION AND RESPONSE
Delivered by Director of the Marine Environment Division, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, on behalf of the Secretary-General.
Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the tenth session of the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response.
Before I turn to the Sub-Committee's work at this session, it is with great sadness that I convey to you the news of Mr. Verner Wilson's passing. Verner frequently attended sessions of the PPR Sub-Committee and MEPC as a member of the delegation of Friends of the Earth International. As a Senior Oceans Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, he focused on shipping-related marine environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest and the Arctic.
Verner was passionate about safety of navigation, and environmental protections in the Arctic, and emphasized the importance and relevance of Arctic Indigenous knowledge and perspectives to the work of the Organization.
I convey my deepest condolences, and those of the entire IMO family, to Verner's family, friends and colleagues. A book of condolences is available at the FOEI delegation seat in plenary for delegates to sign.
Distinguished delegates,
Let me now turn to this year's World Maritime theme, which is: "MARPOL at 50 - Our commitment goes on". It is intended to create the opportunity for the maritime community to highlight the relevance and importance of MARPOL now and into the future, reflecting also the Organization's long history of protecting the environment from the impact of shipping via a robust regulatory framework and emphasizes our ongoing commitment.
In this regard, the work of your Sub-Committee is highly relevant, considering that many of the regulatory developments concerning MARPOL are the result of work carried out at the PPR Sub-Committee
You have a full agenda with many important matters that need to be progressed.
In relation to marine biosafety, at this session you will again consider a variety of topics relating to ballast water, biofouling and anti-fouling systems, including finalization of the revised Biofouling Guidelines.
With regards to Marine Plastic Litter from Ships you will:
- consider the way forward on potential measures to reduce the environmental risk associated with the maritime transport of plastic pellets;
- further develop draft amendments to MARPOL Annex V to enhance the reporting of fishing gear losses;
- consider how to best approach the development of goal-based requirements for marking of fishing gear.
In the context of prevention of air pollution from ships, I encourage you to make as much progress as possible on Reduction of the impact on the Arctic of emissions of Black Carbon from international shipping as well as on all other matters relating to atmospheric pollution.
I also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Chair of the ESPH Technical Group and the delegations that contributed to the outcome of ESPH 28, the report of which you will consider this week.
Before closing, I take this opportunity to inform you that IMO is supporting UN‑led efforts to prevent a possible catastrophic oil spill from the FSO SAFER, an ageing and rapidly decaying floating storage offshore (FSO) unit off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. the operational phase to remove the oil is set to start in a matter of weeks.
In this regard and given the lengthy lead times for the manufacture and acquisition of oil spill response equipment, the UN would welcome in-kind contributions of used spill response equipment for immediate dispatch to the region to have on stand-by during the transfer operation. Interested delegations are invited to refer to Circular Letter No. 4714 containing Information on who to contact with expressions of interest, as well as the full list of equipment being sought.
Furthermore, on 4 May another event led by the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands will take place to raise funds for the next stage of the operation.
Thank you.