The IOPC Funds participate in the 16th meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC

The IOPC Funds were pleased to participate in the sixteenth meeting of the Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), held from 13 to 15 May 2025 in Sliema, Malta.

The event was attended by 16 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, 13 of which are also 1992 Fund Member States, as well as a number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.

A number of items of interest to the IOPC Funds were discussed during the meeting, including: implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy Plan, discussions relating to a Blue Fund financed by environmental and pollution fines, air pollution and reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from ships, and illegal and accidental oil and HNS pollution from ships.  Participants all took part in an exercise on HNS involving a release of hazardous and noxious substances causing a toxic gas cloud close to the shoreline.

IOPC Funds Claims Manager, Mark Homan, reported on the latest developments in the international liability and compensation regime for ship-source pollution damage .

He presented a document to the meeting which contained  an overview of the work undertaken by the IOPC Funds since the last meeting of REMPEC Focal Points in June 2023, focusing particularly on incidents impacting the Mediterranean region. These included the unresolved mystery spill in Israel (2021), the Agia Zoni II (Greece, 2017), Alfa I (Greece, 2012), and the Prestige (Spain/France, 2002). Updates were given on ongoing compensation claims, investigations, and legal proceedings.

Mr Homan also briefed the meeting on emerging global issues affecting the IOPC Funds, such as the challenges posed by uninsured and unsafe ships, including those linked to the expanding ‘dark fleet’ and the potential impacts of sanctions on the international compensation regime.

The meeting served to reinforce the importance of universal ratification and effective implementation of the 1992 Civil Liability and Fund Conventions and highlighted the IOPC Funds’ ongoing commitment to supporting Mediterranean coastal States in this regard.

The event provided a good opportunity for the organisation to engage directly with Mediterranean coastal States and to learn about REMPEC’s most recent activities and future goals.

REMPEC is an international intergovernmental organisation, established under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and supported by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Its role includes assisting the Mediterranean coastal States in ratifying, transposing into national law, implementing and enforcing international maritime conventions.