At a Summit in Oslo on 5 June, Board Members of the International Chamber of
Shipping (ICS) met with Ministers from major shipping nations and the Secretary
General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to discuss Arctic
Shipping.The Oslo 2013 Maritime Summit, coordinated by the Norwegian
Government and attended by Ministers and senior officials from Greece, Japan,
Norway, Russia, Singapore, United States and the European Commission, underlined
the need for government and industry cooperation in order to take advantage of
the opportunities presented by the Arctic in a way that reconciles the need for
both environmental and economic sustainability.ICS Chairman, Masamichi
Morooka, explained: “ICS was keen to stress the importance of Arctic nations
avoiding unilateral measures that might cut across IMO Conventions or the
provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” He
stressed the immediate priority for ICS was to continue to work within IMO to
assist in the completion and adoption by governments of the IMO Polar Code,
which is expected to become mandatory via amendments to the SOLAS and MARPOL
Conventions in 2014. “ICS believes that the development of the Polar Code
needs to be risk-based, so that requirements imposed on ships take full account
of the hazards relevant to the type of ship operation, the ship location and the
season of operation,” said Mr Morooka.ICS members also set out a number of
further principles regarding the future governance of Arctic waters. These
included the need for Arctic coastal states to avoid imposing discriminatory
treatment that might prejudice the rights of ships registered with non-Arctic
nations, as well as the importance of appropriate fees for services. ICS
also called for clarity regarding the legal status of Arctic waters. “As remote
Arctic sea routes become accessible these once academic issues are becoming
increasingly important,” said Mr Morooka. ICS argues that the UNCLOS regime
of ‘transit passage’ for straits used in international navigation takes
precedence over the rights of coastal states to enact unilateral measures
against international shipping. The Summit concluded by emphasising the
importance of governments and shipowners, as represented by ICS, co-operating to
ensure that the draft IMO Polar Code is adopted and implemented as soon as
possible.
WORLD SHIPPING
06 June 2013 - 21:05
ICS meets with ministers to discuss Arctic shipping
At a Summit in Oslo on 5 June, Board Members of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) met with Ministers from major shipping nations
WORLD SHIPPING
06 June 2013 - 21:05
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