Reporting requirements

Reporting requirements for the London Convention and London Protocol

 

Reporting requirements under Article VI (4) of the Convention and under Article 9.4 of the Protocol include:

  1. Annual report on all permits issued, including NIL report when no permits are issued; and
  2. Annual report on monitoring activities undertaken. 

Contracting Parties should submit reports on dumping and monitoring activities electronically using the Global Integrated Shipping information System (GISIS). Alternatively, an Excel form can be used for reporting which is then submitted to the Secretariat, the form, as well as the explanatory notes, can be downloaded from the links to the right. 

Contracting Parties to the London Protocol are also required, under Articles 9.4.2 and 9.4.3, to report on their administrative and legislative measures taken to implement the provisions of the Protocol, including a summary of enforcement measures, the effectiveness of such measures and any other problems encountered in their application.  

A report is also required on emergency permits or in cases of force majeure (as soon as possible). The procedures for force majeure/emergencies cases are found at the link to the right.

Past annual dumping reports

 

Reporting requirements under Article VI (4) of the Convention and under article 9.4 of the Protocol include: 1) Annual report on all permits issued, including NIL report when no permits are issued; and 2) Annual report on monitoring activities undertaken. The Secretariat publishes compilations of these reports on an annual basis.

Previous reports can be found on the IMO Docs website, in the LC-LP section under the tab Circulars (LC-LP.1).

Reporting of illegal dumping incidents

Under Article VII of the London Convention , Contracting Parties agreed to co-operate in the reporting of vessels and aircraft observed dumping in contravention of the Convention. The Protocol contains a similar provision. Specifically, if a mariner or other observer (“Incident Observer”) witnesses a dumping incident in any ocean waters that appears to be in violation of the Convention or the Protocol, he or she is asked to:

  1. Immediately notify the proper authorities to that they can determine an appropriate action.  A list of contacts can be found in: List of National Operational Contact Points Responsible for the Receipt, Transmission and Processing of Urgent Reports on Incidents Involving Harmful Substances, Including Oil from Ships to Coastal States, Annex 2 for SOPEP s (MSC-MEPC.6/Circ.10). These can be found in IMO Docs or by following the link Circulars at the bottom of the first page of the IMO website.
  2.  Complete a Dumping Incident Information Form and Supplementary Information Form as completely as possible. The Dumping Incident Form and guidance for completing it are found in circular LC-LP.1/Circ.47, which can be downloaded in English, French and Spanish at the IMO Docs website. The form can also be downloaded in the menu to the right.

Management of spoilt cargoes

Occasionally during a voyage, cargo may spoil and mariners are faced with the need to manage the problem. The ideal way to manage spoilt cargo would be to offload it from the ship to be managed on land – either to sell for an alternate use, recycle salvageable materials, or to be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. However, in certain circumstances this may not be possible, and disposal at sea could then be the only viable option. However, spoilt cargo should only be considered for disposal at sea when there is a marked degree of urgency, facilities on land are unavailable, and it will not cause harm to the environment or human health.

To assist in the decision making and management of spoilt cargoes, guidance was developed by the governing bodies of the London Convention and Protocol (LC-LP.1/Circ.58), which can be downloaded to the right.