Introduction - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 8

organisation to consider any matters concerning the effect of shipping on the marine
environment referred to it by any organ or specialised agency of the United Nations.
This amendment enhanced the status of the organisation as a specialised organisa-
tion of the United Nations system, entrusted with the responsibility of promoting
global action for the prevention of vessel-source marine pollution.
These major legal and institutional reforms were then followed by several other
IMO-initiated legal instruments and amendments of existing instruments. These
dealt with the issues of pollution prevention and response 34 ; ballast water manage-
ment 35 ; anti-fouling systems 36 ; particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSA) 37 ; the ship
recycling industry 38 ; and reduction of GHG emissions. 39
As listed in Table 1.1 the IMO has promoted the adoption of a huge number of
legal instruments related to marine environmental protection. Development of
international legal instruments is an on-going process. New and emerging environ-
mental challenges warrant more proactive action from the global community for the
prevention of vessel-source marine pollution. s 6-year strategic plan

recognised the need for IMO to give particular emphasis on the following issues
over the next 6 years:

IMO

'

￿ being proactive in identifying shipping activities and incidents that could have
an adverse impact on the environment and,

therefore, in developing

corresponding preventive measures;
￿ contributing to international efforts to reduce atmospheric pollution and address
climate change;
￿ developing effective preparedness and response strategies for shipping incidents
in order to mitigate their impact on the environment; and
￿ making new ships more environmentally-friendly by implementing the “cradle
to grave” concept for new ships, whilst further facilitating practicable solutions
for the recycling of existing ships. 40

34 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation , opened
for signature 30 November 1990, 30 ILM 733 (entered into force 13 May 1995)
(hereinafter OPRC).
35 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship ' s Ballast Water and Sedi-
ments (hereinafter BWM Convention), 2004, IMO Doc. BWM/ CONF/36 (2004) reprinted in
ATNIF (2005) 18 (not yet in force).
36

International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships 2001, IMO
Doc. AFS/CONF/26 (5 October 2001) (entered into force 17 September 2008) (hereinafter Anti-
fouling Systems Convention).
37 Revised Guidelines for the Identification and Designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas ,
IMO Doc. A24/Res.982 (6 February 2006).
38 Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of
Ships , opened for signature 1 September 2009, IMO Doc. SR/CONF/45 (19 May 2009) (not yet in
force) (hereinafter IMO Recycling of Ships Convention).
39 Resolution MEPC.203(62), Report of the Marine Environment Protection Committee on Its
Sixty-Second Session, ANNEX 19, IMO Doc. MEPC 62/24/Add.1 (26 July 2011).
40 Strategic Plan for the Organization (for the Six-Year Period 2012 to 2017 ), IMO Doc. A
27/Res.1037 (20 December 2011).