‘Hands off UNCLOS’, Ocean Summit told

During the discussion at the World Ocean Summit in Singapore, Spyros M Polemis of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) explained how the balance of rights and responsibilities that exists between flag states, port states and coastal states interacts, adding that because of this the shipping industry is very reluctant to support a fundamental revision of UNCLOS.

The shipping industry has 100 years of experience of international governance of its activities, and questions the premise that the UN Law of the Sea is no longer fit for purpose. Mr Polemis explained that shipping is a global industry requiring a global regulatory framework, not a patchwork of national rules which, he said, would bring about chaos, inefficiency, and have a negative impact on the smooth flow of world trade.

Apart from enshrining the principle of global maritime rules, which are vital to the industry, UNCLOS also establishes the right of all nations to freedom of navigation on the high seas and the right of innocent passage in territorial waters. It also deals with delicate issues such as the rights of all ships to use international straits which are of great strategic importance.

Because UNCLOS addresses a number of other sensitive issues, not just those affecting shipping, ICS believes it is very unlikely that governments would be willing to reopen this package.

Mr Polemis suggested that if there were concerns about other areas of oceans governance, lessons could be learned in other sectors from the shipping industry’s global regulator, the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), whose successful MARPOL Convention is enforced and implemented by 150 Flag States covering 99% of the world fleet.

“Unlike many other activities involving the oceans, shipping is probably unique in having a specialist UN agency to regulate our activities, the International Maritime Organization, said Mr Polemis. “We have experience of many intergovernmental organisations that impact on our industry. I can honestly tell you that the IMO is a model of efficiency, made up of experts from virtually every government in the world, who develop and adopt very complex regulations directly relevant to the protection of the marine environment.”

ICS’s view is that there is no shortfall in governance so far as the international regulation of shipping is concerned. The shipping industry responsibly utilises the excellent facility that the sea provides for international transport, about 90% of world trade is carried by sea.