Successful workshop on the 2010 HNS Convention

Over 40 States as well as various industry organisations attended a two-day workshop on the 2010 HNS Convention organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in cooperation with the IOPC Funds, which took place at the IMO Headquarters from 26-27 April 2018.
The workshop was opened by IMO’s Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations Division, Frederick Kenney. IOPC Funds’ Director José Maura also provided some opening remarks, with both speakers focusing on the positive progress being made towards entry into force of the Convention and in particular the recent ratifications by Canada, Turkey and previously Norway.
The workshop focussed on practical issues likely to be faced by States implementing the 2010 HNS Convention. It included a number of presentations and discussion sessions, with François Marier (Canada) acting as moderator. The sessions covered topics such as the approach taken by States to implement the Convention, the reporting of contributing cargo, HNS incidents and risks and the views of the shipping industry and cargo interests on the Convention and its global need. The IOPC Funds delivered three presentations over the two days and were on hand to respond to questions and participate in discussions throughout.
At the closing of the workshop Mr Marier commented on the successful exchange of information and discussions that had taken place. In particular, he referred to the united front of support for the Convention that had been demonstrated by both shipping and cargo interests who were proactively encouraging States to proceed with the implementation process. States were encouraged to collaborate, make use of the advice provided by fellow States, of the expertise of IMO and the IOPC Funds and of the tools that had been made available to assist in promoting the understanding of the Convention within their administrations. He noted the clear progress towards entry into force of the Convention and the momentum that had clearly gathered in recent months, with the concluding message being that the onus was now on States to ensure that that momentum was not lost, but that the Convention instead remained high on each State’s list of domestic priorities.
The presentations provided during the workshop are available to download via the documents section of the IMO website and will be made available via www.hnsconvention.org in due course.