Q 7. There seem to be a number of initiatives being proposed and undertaken to clean up the seas of waste, in particular limiting the discarding of plastic into the oceans is very topical. What are IMO’s thoughts on this and how can the organisation help to make a difference in the area of cleaning up the seas?


A. Of course, IMO is very aware of this problem and is a partner in the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), which is managed by UN Environment. IMO is co-lead on sea-based sources of marine litter, together with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.


Most marine litter, including plastic, originates from land-based sources. Indeed, IMO pioneered the prohibition of plastics’ disposal from ships anywhere at sea almost 30 years ago. MARPOL Annex V, which came into force in 1988, prohibits the discharge of all types of garbage into the sea from ships, except in the cases explicitly permitted under the Annex (such as food waste, cargo residues, cleaning agents/additives that are not harmful to the marine environment).


Under the GMPL, IMO has developed a training package on MARPOL Annex V and port reception facilities and a review of plastics in the waste streams under another international measure - the London Convention and Protocol – which deals with dumping waste at sea.


Concern over marine litter was raised again at the IMO Assembly last year, and Member States were invited to submit concrete proposals to the appropriate IMO technical bodies.


Q 8. There would seem to be a decrease in piracy generally, but what is IMO doing to help to eradicate this most unpleasant and vexing activity?


A. IMO has a long history of addressing piracy and, while there is no room for complacency, the collective weight of our activities has undoubtedly helped to curb the activity.


Since the 1980s, IMO has collected and promulgated piracy statistics for analysis so that trends can be identified and appropriate countermeasures developed. In the 2000s, IMO helped broker a tripartite agreement between the littoral states of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, and has fully supported the information sharing centre established in Singapore under the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).


More recently, since the focus of piracy activity shifted from Asia back to Africa, IMO has developed guidance on the suppression of piracy for both governments and shipowners/operators, supplemented by industry- developed “Best Management Practices”. Guidance has also been issued on investigating piracy incidents, calling on states to investigate and persecute suspected perpetrators, and on using privately contracted armed security personnel, leading to an international ISO standard


being developed. IMO maintains close working relationships with naval forces engaged in counter piracy patrols and we also work closely with UNODC and others to help countries develop counter- piracy legislation. IMO has also authorised long range ship tracking data, known as LRIT, to be used by security forces for counter piracy off Somalia.


Regional cooperation among States has an important role to play in solving the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships. In January 2009, an important regional agreement was adopted in Djibouti by States in the region, at a high-level meeting convened by IMO. The 20 signatory States to the Djibouti Code of Conduct [concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden] declare their intention to cooperate to the fullest possible extent to repress piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region. The scope of the Djibouti Code was expanded to address the full spectrum of maritime threats in January 2017.


Then, in 2013, a similar Code of Conduct for west and central Africa was formally adopted by a Heads of State meeting in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé.


Official photograph of current IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.


36 | The Report • March 2018 • Issue 83


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