BWM confirmation next year, says IMO

The verification process regarding whether the requirement for ratifying parties to hold 35% of the world’s tonnage has been met is still being calculated, after ratification by Indonesia, Morocco and Ghana in November bolstered the number of ratifying countries to 47.

Explaining the decision to recount tonnages, the IMO stated: “Tonnage figures are derived from data supplied to the IMO Secretariat by IHS Maritime & Trade. The data are normally provided to IMO twice each year, as at 31 December for treaty purposes, and as at 30 June for determining IMO member states’ financial assessments.

“Because of stringent IMO deadlines, those tonnage figures sometimes cannot be verified prior to submission to IMO. The compiled 2015 assessment tonnages, released to IMO’s member states on 16 December 2015, contained some unverified data, but also revealed that the conditions for entry into force of the BWM Convention might have been met, by a very small margin.”

IMO confirmed that if the ratifications by Morocco, Indonesia and Ghana add sufficient tonnage, the BWM Convention would enter into force on 24 November 2016. It reiterated its plea for countries – especially those with large merchant fleets, to ratify the convention.

Secretary general Koji Sekimizu also urged the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), in spring 2016, to prepare a set of amendments to the BWM Convention to reflect all the agreements forged during the past three years, so that amendments can be adopted as soon as possible and implemented when the BWM Convention enters into force.

He also called on the shipping industry to take action to install necessary equipment and establish operational procedures in accordance with IMO regulations and standards, so that the BWM Convention can be effectively implemented upon entry into force.