RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety
and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships,
RECALLING ALSO Resolution 3 of the International Conference
on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979, on the need for an internationally
agreed format and procedure for ship reporting systems,
CONSIDERING that current national ship reporting systems
may use different procedures and reporting formats,
REALIZING that such different procedures and reporting formats
could cause confusion to masters of ships moving from one area to
another covered by a different ship reporting system,
BELIEVING that such confusion could be alleviated if ship
reporting systems and reporting requirements were to comply as far
as practicable with relevant general principles and if reports were
made in accordance with a standard format and procedures,
RECALLING the General Principles for Ship Reporting Systems
and Ship Reporting Requirements, including Guidelines for Reporting
Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods, Harmful Substances and/or Marine
Pollutants, adopted by Resolution A.648(16).
RECOGNIZING that States Parties to the International Convention
relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution
Casualties (1969) and the Protocol relating to Intervention on the
High Seas in Cases of Marine Pollution by Substances other than Oil
(1973) may take such measures on the high seas as may be necessary
to prevent, mitigate or eliminate grave and imminent danger to their
coastline or related interests from pollution or threat of pollution
of the sea by oil and substances other than oil following upon a maritime
casualty or acts related to such a casualty, which may reasonably
be expected to result in major harmful consequences,
RECOGNIZING ALSO the need for coastal States to be informed
by the master of an assisting ship, or of a ship undertaking salvage,
of particulars of the incident and of action taken,
RECOGNIZING FURTHER that an incident involving damage, failure
or breakdown of the ship, its machinery or equipment could give rise
to a significant threat of pollution to coastlines or related interests,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime
Safety Committee at its sixty-seventh session and the Marine Environment
Protection Committee at its thirty-ninth session,
1. ADOPTS the General Principles for Ship Reporting
Systems and Ship Reporting Requirements, including Guidelines for
Reporting Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods, Harmful Substances
and/or Marine Pollutants set out in the Annex to the present resolution;
2. URGES Governments to ensure that ship reporting
systems and reporting requirements comply as closely as possible with
the general principles specified in the Annex to the present resolution;
3. URGES Governments to bring the reporting format
and procedures to the notice of shipowners and seafarers as well as
of the designated authorities concerned;
4. RECOMMENDS Member Governments and States Parties
to MARPOL 73/78 to implement the Guidelines, in accordance with paragraph
(2) of article V of Protocol I thereof:
5. REVOKES Resolution A.648(16).