Written by David Condino.

Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Port and Facility Compliance staff is scheduled to attend a five-day plenary meeting of the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, Sub-Committee on marine environment protection in Hamburg, Germany. The agenda for the meeting will include a working group on development of international standards for management of shipboard wastes and port reception facilities.

ISO standards are based on international regulations, such as those found in the International Maritime Organization’s Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL. While not mandatory, these regulations offer technical guidance to IMO member states and maritime industry stakeholders alike.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s continued leadership at ISO helps ensure harmonization of U.S. laws and regulations with international regulations and standards for the prevention of pollution from ships. This, in turn, helps the U.S. satisfy its treaty obligations to implement and enforce MARPOL while maintaining key relationships with our international maritime trading partners.

Recent amendments to MARPOL regulations, offering increased protections for the oceans, have required updating of existing ISO waste standards and national implementing laws and regulations. ISO standards play a key role in implementing international regulations and ensuring a level playing field for all maritime stakeholders.

Stay tuned! Maritime Commons will provide an after-action post to present meeting outcomes.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.