2004 Press Releases:March - U.S. Coast Guard
-
Aquatic Nuisance Species Program Update - February/March 2004. This month's headlines: Coast Guard Launches Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP); International Ballast Water
Management Treaty; Ballast Water Management for U.S. Waters ; Electronic Reporting Encouraged; Calendar of Events. IMO Briefing 08/2004 - 13 February 2004; International Conference on Ballast Water Management: 9-13 February 2004 Alien invaders in ballast water - new Convention adopted at IMO 2003 Press Releases:Briefing 32/2003 - 1 December 2003
- Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) - 50th session: 1 and 4 December 2003 : IMO meeting to consider proposals for accelerated single-hull tanker phase-out, new regulation on carriage of heavy fuel oil
Briefing 32 2003 - 28 November 2003 - Efthimios Mitropoulos confirmed
as new IMO Secretary-General 17 September 2003 -
BIMCO officials met with officials of the US State Department International Affairs Group in Washington DC to discuss concerns regarding US policy affecting foreign seafarers employed on ships trading to US ports.
During the meeting BIMCO was informed that on 18 July 2003 the Director of the US State Department Office of Field Support and Liaison Visa Office sent instructions to all US Embassies and Consulates to give priority to
seafarers seeking visas.
Briefing 21 2003 - 26 September 2003: International ship sewage regulations enter into force -
International regulations for the prevention of pollution by sewage from ships enter into force on 27 September 2003 - nearly 30 years after their adoption.
Briefing 20/2003 - 24 September 2003: IMO - committed people working
for safe, secure and clean seas - 25th September 2003 marks the celebration of World Maritime Day, the annual event which is used around the world to focus attention on the global importance of the maritime industries
to world trade and to emphasize in particular IMO's work to promote safety and security in shipping and to help protect the marine environment.
Briefing 15 2003 - 23 June 2003: IMO Council – 90th session: 16 - 20 June 2003 Organizations in consultative status with IMO – Council decisions
At its 90th session (June 16th to 20th), in the course of its regular review of Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative
status, the IMO Council decided to withdraw the consultative status of Greenpeace International, the Iberoamerican Institute of Maritime Law (IIDM) and the International Bar Association (IBA). In so doing it
noted that a final decision on these Non-Governmental Organizations which had had their consultative status withdrawn would be made by the IMO Assembly at its next regular session in November 2003. Pending that
decision, the consultative status of these organizations with IMO remains unchanged. Briefing 7/2003 - 20 March 2003: IMO urges early
implementation of maritime security measures - Implementation of security measures adopted by the December 2002 Conference on Maritime Security should begin as soon as possible, IMO has urged, in a Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC) Circular issued following consultations between IMO Secretary-General, Mr. William A. O'Neil, and the MSC Chairman, Mr. Tom Allan.
Briefing 42/2002 - 17 December 2002; Conference of Contracting Governments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974: 9 - 13 December 2002, IMO adopts
comprehensive maritime security measures Mr. William O'Neil and Mr. Yiorgos Anomeritis met Jan 11, 2003 concerning action in the context of the Prestige accident. United States Senate
sees international security standards as critical in letter to IMO Secretary-General
The United States
Senate views the adoption of a robust, uniform and predictable set of international security standards as critical to meeting the increased need for global maritime security, the United States Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation states in a letter to IMO Secretary-General Mr. William A. O'Neil. Tanker "Prestige" Sinks off Spanish Coast - (Environmental News Service) MADRID, Spain, November 19, 2002 (ENS) - The damaged oil tanker "Prestige" broke in two and disappeared
beneath the waves some 75 miles off Spain's northwestern coast Tuesday with a 22 million gallon cargo of fuel oil on board. The sinking raised fears of a massive ecological disaster on the scale of the Exxon Valdez,
which carried about half the amount of oil on board the "Prestige."The "Prestige" cracked up during a storm November 13 off Europe's westernmost point of land, Cape Finisterre, on Spain's Costa da
Morte, or Coast of Death. The crew was evacuated from the ship, and it was towed about 150 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. Owned by the Bahamian company Mare Shipping Inc., and flying a Bahamian flag,
the 26 year old single hulled tanker was operated by Universe Maritime Ltd. of Greece. It was headed from Latvia to Gibraltar and then to Singapore when it encountered the storm. The vessel initially
spilled at least 1.3 million gallons of oil which has washed up as sludge on the environmentally fragile Galician coast. For fear of contamination, the rich fishing grounds were temporarily closed... IMO statement - The Prestige incident has been followed closely by IMO since events began to unfold some days ago... INTERTANKO and BIMCO statement
- The time has come for
global recognition for places of refuge - INTERTANKO and BIMCO very much regret the loss of the tanker Prestige and the environmental, social and economic consequences of this extremely unfortunate incident...
IMO set to adopt comprehensive maritime security measures
A high-level Diplomatic
Conference begins at IMO Headquarters in London on Monday 9 December to adopt a package of security measures for the international maritime and port industries. The measures represent the culmination of just over a
year's intense work by IMO's Maritime Safety Committee and its Intersessional Working Group since the terrorist atrocities in the United States in September 2001. |
