The 110th meeting of the IMO Legal Committee (LEG 110) took place last week from 27 to 31 March and was attended by IAPH policy and IMO liaison officer Rhona Macdonald. There were numerous items on the agenda relevant to ports, including updates on the revision of the IMO Places of Refuge Guidelines. The Committee recalled that the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) had approved the draft Assembly Resolution on the revision of the Guidelines on places of refuge for ships in need of assistance and had invited the Legal Committee to approve the same.
One document submitted by Argentina, however, referred to a clause which states that ‘the right of a foreign ship to enter a port or internal waters of another State in situations of force majeure or distress’ is ‘internationally accepted practice’. The South American member state argued that this was in conflict with the draft Assembly resolution on the Guidelines, recalling that ‘coastal States are not, under international law, under any obligation to grant places of refuge’. In light of these remarks, Argentina proposed modifications to the text to take into consideration these concerns which were widely supported and adopted by the Committee. Additional items of note include the approval of the finalised text of the Claims Manual for the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001, as well as updates on the ratification of the HNS Protocol by Member States. Delegations, including Belgium, France and the Netherlands, reiterated their commitments towards ratification and further implementation of the protocol in the course of 2023 and 2024, However, many highlighted the importance of coordinating their positions with other States where major ports were located to ensure a global level playing field.
Overall, delegations continued to encourage the ratification of the protocol by flag and coastal states to enable its entry into force as soon as possible, noting that given the change in transport of HNS substances in the context of climate change, the transition to alternative fuels would demand an appropriate liability and compensation regime. Finally, the Committee unanimously re-elected Gillian Grant (Canada) as the chair and Ivane Abashidze (Georgia) as the vice-chair for 2024.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
