To IMO Headquarters, Ministry Of Transportation Will Discuss Issues Of Maritime Environmental Protection

Marine illustration (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesia will be involved in the 11th Sub-Committe on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) session which will be held on 19-23 February 2024 at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London, Great Britain.

The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) has also begun to make preparations to welcome the trial by holding meetings with ministries/agencies related to prevention, pollution and protection of the maritime environment.

The Director of Shipships and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transportation Hartanto explained that as mandated by the United Nations (UN), the enforcement of state sovereignty in the field of maritime environmental protection in Indonesia must be a concern for every stakeholder.

Hartanto said, not only in the Ministry of Transportation, but also other ministries/agencies that have an interest in preserving the marine environment and all its resources.

It is known that the PPR is a meeting under the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which is the second largest committee IMO after the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), has the authority to consider matters related to the prevention and supervision of maritime environmental pollution, particularly related to adoption or changes to other conventions and regulations as well as actions that ensure the enforcement of these conventions and regulations.

"The PPR discussed various technical and operational issues related to prevention, pollution and protection of the maritime environment on orders from the MEPC or at the request of the MSC," he said, quoted from the official website of the Ministry of Transportation, Friday, February 9.

The issues discussed in the meeting by the Ministry of Transportation, such as the prevention and control of marine environmental pollution from ships and other related maritime activities, safe and environmentally friendly ship closures, security evaluation and danger of pollution from liquid materials in bulk transported by ships.

Then, control and management of dangerous aquatic organisms in shipball water and sediment, biofouling and preparedness, response and cooperation in overcoming toxic oil pollution and hazardous substances.

"So far, Indonesia has always used the IMO PPR forum in its capacity not only as a member country, but also as a member of the IMO Council Category C to voice national interests regarding maritime environmental protection, especially related to maritime protection. This certainly requires support from all stakeholders," he said.

Therefore, Hartanto continued, this meeting was held to discuss various proposals from IMO member countries regarding various technical and legal aspects in protecting the maritime environment and to determine Indonesia's position in these proposals.

According to Hartanto, this is important to discuss because the decisions made by the PPR Session will affect technical aspects and shipping laws and maritime environmental protection in Indonesia.

"I hope that all participants can actively provide input and review to provide provisions for the Indonesian delegation who will attend the 11th PPR session," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Sub-Directorate for Prevention of Pollution and Management of Ship Safety and Environmental Protection in Miftakhul Hadi Waters revealed that the 11th PPR Session will discuss as many as 18 Agendas with 12 Big Agendas.

He added that the trial would be divided into technical groups, working groups and compilation groups with parallel discussion times.

"It will discuss five (5) things, namely one technical group discussing the evaluation of the safety and dangers of chemical pollution, three work groups discussing marine biodiversity, air pollution from ships and plastic waste from ships and one group of preparation discussing the response to pollution," he added.

The preparation meeting was attended by participants from representatives of the Ministry of Transportation as well as various ministries/agencies related to maritime environmental protection, such as the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Furthermore, there are the National Research and Innovation Agency, the Indonesian Classification Bureau, the Faculty of Law, Universitas Airlangga and DPP ISA as well as the Association of Ship and Offshore Industry Companies in Indonesia.