Citation
(2007), "NPCA and IPPIC Anti-Fouling Working Group call for the rapid ratification of anti-fouling systems treaty", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 54 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2007.12854dab.034
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
NPCA and IPPIC Anti-Fouling Working Group call for the rapid ratification of anti-fouling systems treaty
Washington, DC, February 6, 2007 – the Anti-Fouling Working Group of the International Paint and Printing Ink Council (IPPIC), for which the NPCA serves as Secretariat, is urging countries to ratify the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships. The workgroup officially adopted a resolution to advocate ratification at its inaugural meeting in Singapore in November 2006.
The treaty was adopted under the auspices of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization in October 2001, after a lengthy negotiation at the Marine Environment Protection Committee involving member states and non-governmental organizations from both the environmental community and maritime industries.
The International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships calls for the elimination of the application of organotin acting as biocides effective January 1, 2003 and the uncontained presence of organotins on ships hulls effective January 1, 2008. The treaty was adopted because of the concern over the long-term environmental impact of organotin compounds in anti-fouling systems and the recognition that less toxic materials are now available to meet the same need. In addition to the ban on organotins, the treaty will establish a system for regulating anti-fouling systems that might be used on ships in the future.
The treaty will come into force when 25 countries with 25 percent of the World's tonnage ratify it. As of February 1, 2007, 19 countries with approximately 16 percent of the shipping tonnage had ratified the treaty. But many major flag states with significant shipping tonnage have not, including the US.
The industry's concern is heightened by the treaty's looming January 2008 deadline for the elimination of organotin compounds from ships' hulls or its effective containment. To effectively meet the date, work on the ships should be under way now. Further, because the treaty becomes immediately effective when it is ratified, if the treaty becomes ratified after January 8, 2008, there will be massive noncompliance on that date, with uncertain enforcement consequences. On that date, under the treaty's terms, all ships with uncontained organotin compounds on the hull will be banned from the waters of the ratifying countries.
The delay is sowing confusion in a worldwide industry that has to apply coatings on large ships that are expected to last for three to five years. Adding to the potential chaos is that some countries and regions have enacted bans independently of the treaty. The European Union (EU), for example, has already enacted legislation to implement the terms of the treaty. Ships with uncontained organotin compounds on their hulls in January 2008 will be in violation of the EU requirements and could be denied entry to EU ports irrespective of the treaty's status.
All of these considerations underscore the importance of rapidly ratifying the treaty. The uniformity it will bring is essential for shipyards producing ships that must travel in all the world's waters.
Members: Contact NPCA's Jim Sell jsell@paint.orgfor more information.