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CQD Journal for the Maritime Environment Industry |
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Contents: Editorial Opinion - September the EleventhConvention banning TBT is confirmed by IMO September the Eleventh
I have read a lot since the horrific tragedy of the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. Editorialists have told me how I should feel and how my government should react. For the last month, I have read that we should
conduct business and go on with our lives in spite of the horror. I am told that a return to normalcy will show the enemy that they cannot disrupt us from our pursuit of life. Unfortunately, I have been unable to accept
that argument. Perhaps much of America is moving forward with the business of life, as they must. But here, in the area surrounding New York City, we are still in shock. Weeks following the attack we continue
to attend funeral services for lost friends. Too many people that we knew personally were taken from us. We find it difficult to clear the confusion that comes with so much sorrow. Our anger, the anger of 17
million people around New York City who lost their neighbors, has not even begun to surface. The World Trade Center was not a posh luxury setting for a few wealthy executives. It was designed to accommodate a large
workforce, perhaps 25,000 per tower. The people who worked inside those collapsing towers were predominantly young, hard-working individuals, most of them with families. On September the Eleventh, we lost more parents
in the 30/40-age range than any other segment of the population. I cannot accept a return to normalcy, because I see the children of that generation. They are in class with my kids, on teams I coach and play on the street
where I live. An estimate of 10,000 children will grow up without one of their parents because of what happened on September the Eleventh. Most of those boys and girls live right here, in the neighborhood of New York
City. Whatever happens, however this new war proceeds, these kids are a constant. Their Moms or Dads will find it harder than ever to enjoy time with them since they must now battle new pressures of single
parenthood. Simple joys, such as special time with Dad on Sunday morning so Mom can sleep in, are gone. What was normal for these children, who lost their loved ones in the World Trade Center, is not possible any longer.
The rest of us will go on with our lives because that is what we must do. We will try to do our jobs a little better or work a little harder, if only to fill space for those we lost. But somehow, before this is over, we
must find time to do something more. For those kids who lost a Dad or a Mom we have to find a place in our lives to do something above normal. For them, and for the memory of their missing parents, a return to
normalcy is not enough. I do not have any quick answers or suggestions. Each person will do what he or she can, however small. But I firmly believe it is up to us who remain to find a way to fill the gap left
by those lives, lost forever, on September the Eleventh. Chris Swanson Antifouling Convention is Official London - A landmark document regarding the use of antifouling systems on ships was finalized at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization. Representatives from 75 member states hammered out the final details during a diplomatic conference lasting from October 1st to October 5th. By the end of November, the finalized Convention on Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships will be ready to begin the ratification process.
Convention Marks Changes at IMO
The Convention did not evolve without a great deal of compromise and some major changes to IMO policymaking. The most significant changes were adoptions made to
criteria for Entry Into Force, the manner in which international maritime nations officially adopt IMO treaties. New procedures initiated by this convention may well
signal a future shift in power within IMO, away from Flag States and into the hands of Port States. The agreement on exactly how the Antifouling Treaty will become official was critical
for a number of reasons. In the past, IMO conventions required 15 member states and 50% of the world's fleet to agree to the terms of the agreement before it becomes
binding. Critics have been arguing to change the 15/50 formula and take control away from Flag State nations (see CQD Required Reading below).
Delegates at the Antifouling Conference changed this procedure. The Antifouling Convention will enter into force 12 months after 25 states representing 25% of the world's fleet ratify its' terms.
Shipping Reaction Ship Owners should not be dissatisfied, suggests Richard Halluska, an advisor to
BIMCO at the conference. He says Owners should recognize that there is no enforcement mechanism until the date that the treaty officially enters into force.
International Anti-fouling Certificates cannot be issued and nations cannot apply the treaty to foreign flag vessels. The important point, Halluska explains, is that typically an IMO treaty requires 5
years to be ratified. Even with the change in entry into force, the Antifouling Convention will not likely enter into force for 3-5 years. The maritime world may see
a gradual transition to alternative antifouling systems rather than a distinct cut-off in 2003. This, he says, is what Owners really want. IMO and others are urging ships to comply with the pre-set date of Jan. 1st, 2003
banning application of organotin-based antifoulants. IMO Secretary-General Mr. William O'Neil remarked that Conference Resolution #1 asks Member States to do
their utmost to prepare for implementing the Convention as a matter of urgency. Ship Owners are not compelled to do so until the treaty enters into force. For obvious
reasons, Owners must watch the ratification process very closely and make informed decisions on application and removal of antifoulants on their ships in the coming years.
Major accomplishments of the conference to appear in the Convention on Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships include:
Banning Tributyltin (tbt) and organotin in ship boat bottom paint - Nov. 1998 CQD Journal has been reporting on the TBT (and now organotin) ban in ships hull paint since 1998. Please reference our reports by Searching our Journals.
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This page last updated by Miller Associates: Thursday, June 05, 2003 |
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