the International Chamber of critical Shipping the USA and EU for the unilateral norms adopted in topic of marine transport



The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) critical some assumed unilateral initiatives from the USA and the European Union in topic of marine transport.

According to international the shipowning association, the difference between the norm for the control and the management of ballast waters that are applied in the United States and the Convention on the same topic adopted from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on February 13, 2004, and not still taken effect having to be ratified from at least 30 nations that represent 35% of world-wide the mercantile tonnage, it risks to produce an extreme confusion and to constitute an unsurmountable problem for regulating development of the marine traffics with the USA.

It has emphasized today the president of the ICS, Masamichi Morooka, taking part to Singapore to the forum on the topic "Maritime regulatory landscape - 2015 and beyond" organized from the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) with the ICS.

"That us like it or not - has explained Morooka - the political truth is that Convention IMO is destined probably to take effect in the short one more than over the long term and therefore we will have to be adapted. But the conflict between the norms of the IMO and the United States, with the deficiency of totally approved of systems from the United States, could produce an inextricable problem for which some ships they could not be able to operate in American waters if Convention IMO will take effect before the United States approve of systems that are available commercially. The problem - it has clarified the president of the ICS - is that the United States have adopted a procedure for the approval of equipment for the treatment of the ballast water that is different from that adopted from the IMO. Upon request of the field of the marine transports, guided from ICS, the IMO it has accepted to return the procedure of more rigorous homologation IMO, but also to speed up the governments not to penalize the shipowners that in good faith have installed systems first generation. But - it has specified Morooka - the United States will not be a part of the international Convention".

The ICS has evidenced that based on the enforced American norms, that they are enforced by US Coast Guard, the shipowners that have installed accredited systems IMO, to a cost comprised between and five million dollars for each one ship, they could be forced to replace the system entirely after single five years and this constitutes source of particular worry for the shipowners that have installed systems to the ultraviolet rays for the disinfection of ballast waters. "This - it has found Morooka - is an example of the very serious situation that can happen when the nations unilaterally decide to adopt marine norms".

Moreover Morooka has criticized the decision of the European Union to anticipate the outcome of negotiates unilaterally in course near the IMO on the collection of total data on the emissions of co2 generated by the marine transport adopting, before the conclusion of the work in center IMO, regulations on the monitoring, the communication and the verification of the produced carbon dioxide emissions from the field of the shipping, procedure that will be applied also to the flag ships not EU that employees in the services with Europe come (inforMARE on December 17, 2014).

"Until now, with the support of the field - it has observed the president of the ICS - it negotiate IMO were proceeding well. But there is the danger that the European initiative is perceived by nations EU as an attempt not to introduce they a completed fact". Morooka has specified that "this includes controversial issues as the publication of commercially sensitive data on the efficiency of the single ships, a hypothesis that last October, in the course of Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO, was rejected by the majority of the governments".

"Given the negotiations in center IMO on the ulterior measures in order to reduce the emissions of co2 of the EU will continue - it has emphasized Morooka - for the Member States will be of vital importance to explain as the new regulations EU can be implemented in way such to totally turn out compatible with what it could be approved of from the IMO for a total application, in the interest to avoid the useless complication produced from a separated regional regime".