Other Environmental Issues

In addition to its on-going efforts to meet the challenges of air quality improvement and ballast water discharge management, the Council is working with the U.S. government on other areas of environmental improvement.

• The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) desires to better protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale from ship-strikes and the Council is working with the NMFS to determine steps that ships can take in support of that effort. Learn the facts about ships and whales.>> The Council opposed the initial NMFS proposal to meet its objective by forcing vessel speed restrictions on all ships as they transit the U.S. East Coast. Rather, the Council has suggested that the NMFS expand its research into the migration patterns of these whales and notify ships in transit of the whales' location so that they can be avoided. Read the Council's latest comments to NMFS  >>. The Council also submitted comments to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on its Right Whale Final Environmental Impact Statement. Read Council Comments >>



• The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking an amendment to the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to address the mechanical damage to coral reefs caused by vessels and anchors. The Council supports NOAA's efforts and the intent of the new legislation and is working with the agency and the U.S. Congress on appropriate provisions for the bill.
• Ship Design Improved ship design will protect against fuel spills. A new requirement has come into effect that will protect vessels’ fuel tanks with a double hull. New regulation 12A, an important amendment to Annex I of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Pollution Convention (MARPOL) on oil fuel tank protection, was adopted by the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee on 24 March 2006, and came into force on August 1, 2007. For any ship with a building contract that is entered into on or after August 1, 2007 and that has an aggregate oil fuel capacity of 600 cubic meters or more, the oil fuel tanks will be required to be located inside the double hull, thus helping prevent spillages of oil fuel in case of collision or grounding.

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