The Basel Convention and its application to hazardous and other wastes generated onboard ships

Multi-country workshop on management of ship dismantling and related hazardous waste

15-16 April 2013, Bratislava, Slovakia

Susan Wingfield, Programme OfficerUNEP Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm Conventions

Contents• Wastes excluded from the Basel Convention

• Probo Koala incident

• Legal analysis

• Sea-land interface

• Ongoing work

Wastes excluded from the Convention

Excluding:• Radioactive wastes (subject

to other international control systems) (Article 1.3)

• Wastes which derive from the normal operations of a ship, the discharge of which is covered by another international instrument (Article 1.4)

Probo Koala incident 2006

• August 2006 Probo Koala incident:– Toxic waste dumped at several sites in Abidjan, Cote

d’Ivoire – COP-8 condemned dumping of wastes; technical and

financial assistance to be provided to Cote d’Ivoire to implement their emergency response plan (decision VIII/1)

– Parties also recognised need to:• clarify relationship between BC and MARPOL • to identify any gaps between instruments • to identify options for addressing such gaps (decision

VIII/9)

Legal analysis • Legal analysis aims at supporting the adoption of

a decision, should COP-11 wish to do so, on the application of the BC to wastes generated onboard ships. Issues to be clarified:– The scope of the wastes covered by Article 1, para

4 (“the exclusion clause”)– The application of the obligation to minimize the

generation of wastes onboard ships– The application of the obligations related to the

control of TBM for wastes generated onboard ships– The application of the obligation to manage wastes

generated onboard ships in an ESM

Legal analysis (cont.)• Initial legal analysis published April 2011 • Revised legal analysis presented at BC COP-10,

October 2011• Second revised legal analysis presented at BC

OEWG-8 (October 2012) taking into account views from Canada, EU and Norway

• OEWG-8 requested the opportunity for parties and others to provide further comments (by end 2012) and asked Secretariat to prepare a revised legal analysis with conclusions for the consideration of COP-11

Legal analysis (cont.)• “Wastes which derive from normal operations of a

ship, the discharge of which is covered by another international instrument, are excluded from the scope of the Convention”

• Conclusion of the draft legal analysis: – Wastes which derive from normal operations of

a ship… are MARPOL wastes– Not subject to Basel controls – i.e. the

minimisation requirement, PIC or ESM– Once the wastes (both MARPOL and non-

MARPOL) are off-loaded from the ship: the Basel Convention ESM requirement applies

Legal analysis (cont.)• For non-MARPOL wastes, PIC procedure applies

when:− There is a TBM of non-MARPOL wastes that are

hazardous or other wastes− These wastes need to be generated onboard a ship

physically located in internal waters (i.e. territorial waters)

• IMO SOLAS regulations VI/5.2 & VI/5.3− Blending of bulk liquid cargoes during a sea voyage is

prohibited− Production processes (involving a chemical reaction)

onboard ships are prohibited during the sea voyage

Sea-land interface

• Requirement for Parties to undertake ESM of hazardous and other wastes exists independently of any TBM taking place

• Once wastes (both MARPOL and non-MARPOL) are off-loaded from the ship: the Basel Convention ESM requirement applies to their management downstream

Ongoing work

• Requested by Parties to BC, in close cooperation with IMO– To continue to clarify application of BC

to wastes generated on board ships for consideration by COP-11 (legal analysis)

– Further work on assessing how far BC technical guidelines cover MARPOL wastes

– Develop a guidance manual on sea-interface for wastes generated onboard ships

For further informationFor further information

Visit the Basel Convention Website:

www.basel.int

Tel: [+41 22] 917 8406 Fax: [+41 22] 797 3454

Email: susan.wingfield@unep.org