REPUBLIC OF PANAMA - PANAMA MARITIME AUTHORITY - GENERAL
BUREAU OF MERCHANT MARINE - RESOLUTIONS AND CONSULTATIONS (Letterhead)
RESOLUTION No. 106-51-DGMM - Panama, April 21st 2005
THE UNDERSIGNED BUREAU CHIEF OF THE GENERAL BUREAU OF MERCHANT
MARINE by the powers conferred by law:
CONSIDERING:
That the International Agreement for the Prevention of Pollution
by Vessels 1973, modified by the 1978 Protocol (MARPOL 73/78), was
approved by the Republic of Panama by Law No. 17 dated November 9th 1981.
That in accordance to item 5 of article 30 of Law Decree
No. 7 dated February 10th 1998, the General Bureau of Merchant
Marine must enforce compliance, in vessels of Panamanian registry
and in waters of Panamanian jurisdiction, with national legal standards
and those forming part of International Agreements ratified by the
Republic of Panama, regarding navigation safety and prevention and
control of pollution at sea
That the Committee for the Protection of the Marine Environment
of the IMO approved new amendments to Annex I, MARPOL 73/78 and additional
instruments, determining among other things, the treatment that Member
States to the Agreement must put forward to new and existing oil vessels,
in the matter of pollution prevention of the sea by oil deriving from
the cargo area in cases where the vessel is boarded or beached
That the discharge of oil and it's mixtures, especially
those of a massive nature generally produced, as a consequence of
navigational incidents, severely affecting the marine environment,
altering biological cycles of the flora and fauna, decreasing recreational
inducements and causing harm to the human health, threats to maritime
activities, including fishing and damages or deterioration to the
quality of the environment
That the amendments to the MARPOL 73/78 Agreement adopted
by the Committee for the Protection of Pollution to the Environment
of the International Maritime Organization, by Resolution MEPC 111(50)
dated December 2003, came into effect as of April 5th 2005,
therefore the Panama Maritime Authority is compelled to undertake
it's implementation, especially, the provisions established in regulations
13F, 13G, 13H of Annex I of the Marpol 73/78 Agreement, that as a
consequence bring forth the need to establish the guidelines for the
regulation of the useful life of oil vessels or exemptions to the
compliance of this regulations, in the applicable cases
That in jurisdictional waters of the Republic of Panama,
there are vessels carrying out lucrative commercial activities, which
carry foreign flags as well as the Panamanian flag, over which direct
and effective control must be exercised to guarantee the prevention
of pollution to the marine environment and compliance with the provisions
of regulation 13F, 13G, 13H of Annex I, Marpol 73/78 Agreement