Nairobi
Convention Protocols
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Protocol Concerning
Co-operation in Combating Marine Pollution in
Cases of Emergency in the Eastern African Region
The Contracting Parties,
The Contracting Parties to the present Protocol,
Being Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection, Management
and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African
region, done at Nairobi on 21 June 1985,
Conscious that the use of the Eastern African region and adjacent areas
for vessel traffic, oil production and refining activities poses the risk of
major spillages of oil and other harmful substances and the subsequent serious
threat to the marine and coastal environment and related interests of the
States of the region,
Noting the International Maritime Organization's Assembly Resolution
A.448(XI) which recognizes that regional anti-pollution arrangements are a
valuable and economical way of supplementing national arrangements for the
effective combating of major spillages of oil and other harmful substances in
cases of emergency,
Recognizing that in the event of major spillages of oil and other harmful
substances or threat thereof, prompt and effective action should be taken,
initially at the local level, to mitigate the effects or eliminate the threat,
Further recognizing that for major spillages mutual assistance, and in
some cases, assistance from the international community at large will be
required, and that such assistance should be organized in advance so as to be
timely and effective.
Aware of existing agreements and arrangements which have already been
concluded in other regions for co-operation in dealing with spillages of oil
and other harmful substances,
Have agreed as follows: -
Article 1 :
DEFINITIONS
Article 2
: APPLICATION
Article 3 :
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 4
: EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
Article 5
: COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION CONCERNING, AND REPORTING OF, MARINE POLLUTION
INCIDENTS
Article 6 :
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
Article 7 :
OPERATIONAL MEASURES
Article 8 :
SUBREGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Article 9 :
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Article 10 : MEETINGS OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES
Article 11
: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS PROTOCOL AND THE CONVENTION
Annex
Article 1:
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Protocol,
- "Eastern African region" means the Convention area as defined in paragraph
(a) of article 2 of the Convention. It shall also include the coastal areas of
the Contracting Parties and their internal waters related to the marine and
coastal environment;
- "Convention" means the Convention for the Protection, Management and
Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African
Region;
- "Organization" means the body referred to in paragraph (c) of article 2 of
the Convention;
- "marine pollution incident" means a discharge or spillage of oil or other
harmful substance into the marine environment, or a significant threat of such
a discharge or spillage, however caused, of a magnitude that requires
emergency action or other immediate response for the purpose of minimizing its
effects or eliminating the threat;
- "oil" means petroleum in any form including crude oil, fuel oil, sludge,
oil refuse and refined products;
- "harmful substance" means any substance other than oil which, if
introduced into the sea, creates hazards to human health, harms living
resources and marine life, damages amenities or interferes with other
legitimate uses of the sea;
- "related interests" means the interests of a Contracting Party directly
affected or threatened by oil or other harmful substances and concerning,
among others:
(i) the health of the coastal population,
(ii) maritime, coastal, port or estuarine activities
(iii) fishing activities and the conservation of natural resources,
(iv) the historical and tourist appeal of the area in question, including
water sports and recreation.
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Article 2
: APPLICATION
This Protocol applies to marine pollution incidents which have resulted in
or which pose a significant threat of, pollution to the marine and coastal
environment of the Eastern African region or which adversely affect the
related interests of one or more of the Contracting Parties.
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Article 3
: GENERAL PROVISIONS
-
The Contracting Parties shall, within their capabilities, co-operate in
taking all necessary measures, both preventive and remedial, for the
protection of the marine and coastal environment of the Eastern African region
from marine pollution incidents
- The Contracting Parties shall, within their capabilities, establish and
maintain the means of responding to marine pollution incidents and shall
endeavour to reduce the risk thereof. Such means shall include the enactment,
as necessary, of relevant legislation, the preparation of contingency plans,
the identification and development of the capability to respond to marine
pollution incidents and the designation of a national authority with overall
responsibility for the implementation of this Protocol.
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Article 4
: EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
Each Contracting Party shall periodically exchange with the other
Contracting Parties up-to-date information relating to the implementation of
this Protocol, including the identity of the authorities responsible for such
implementation, and information on their laws, regulations, institutions and
operational procedures relating to the prevention of a marine pollution
incident and to the means of reducing and combating the harmful effects of
such incidents.
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Article 5 :
COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION CONCERNING, AND REPORTING OF, MARINE POLLUTION
INCIDENTS
- Each Contracting Party shall establish appropriate procedures to ensure
that information regarding marine pollution incidents is reported as rapidly
as possible, and shall, inter alia,
- require its appropriate officials, masters of ships flying its flag and
persons in charge of offshore facilities operating under its jurisdiction to
report to it any marine pollution incident involving their ships or
facilities,
- request masters of all ships and pilots of all aircraft operating in the
vicinity of its coasts to report to it any marine pollution incident of which
they are aware .
- Guidelines to be followed in preparing this report to be made pursuant to
paragraph 1 are given in the annex to this Protocol.
- In the event of receiving a report regarding a marine pollution incident, a
Contracting Party shall immediately notify all other Contracting Parties whose
interests are likely to be affected by such an incident, as well as the flag
State of any ship involved in it. The Contracting Party shall also inform the
Organization and the competent international organizations. Furthermore. as
soon as feasible, it shall inform such Contracting Parties, the Organization
and competent international organizations of measures it has taken to minimize
or reduce marine pollution or the threat thereof.
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Article 6 :
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
- Each Contracting Party shall render assistance, within its available
capabilities, to other Contracting Parties which request assistance of it in
the event of a marine pollution incident, as appropriate, within the framework
of joint response action agreed between or among the requesting and assisting
Contracting Parties and taking into account, in the event of a marine
pollution incident involving harmful substances other than oil, the available
technology.
- Each Contracting Party shall, subject to its laws and regulations,
facilitate the movement into, through and out of its territory of technical
personnel, equipment and material necessary for responding to a marine
pollution incident.
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Article 7 :
OPERATIONAL MEASURES
Each Contracting Party shall, within its capabilities, take all necessary
steps, including those outlined below, to respond to a marine pollution
incident:
- make a preliminary assessment of the incident, including the type and
extent of existing or likely pollution effects,
- promptly communicate notification of the incident pursuant to article 5,
- promptly determine its ability to take effective measures to respond to
the incident and the assistance that might be required,
- consult, as appropriate, with other Contracting Parties concerned in the
process of determining the necessary response to the incident,
- take the measures necessary to prevent, reduce or eliminate the effects of
the incident, including monitoring of the situation.
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Article 8 :
SUBREGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
- With a view to facilitating the implementation of the provisions of this
Protocol, and in particular articles 6 and 7, the Contracting Parties shall
conclude appropriate bilateral or multilateral subregional arrangements.
- Contracting Parties to this Protocol which enter into such subregional
arrangements shall notify the other Contracting Parties, as well as the
Organization, of the conclusion and the content of the arrangements.
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Article 9 :
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
The Contracting Parties designate the Organization to carry out, in co-
operation with the International Maritime Organization, the following
functions:
- assisting Contracting Parties, upon request, in the following areas:
- the preparation, periodic review and updating of the contingency plans
referred to in paragraph 2 of article 3, with a view, inter alia, to promoting
the compatibility of the plans of the Contracting Parties, and
- publicizing training courses, programmes and material.
- assisting the Contracting Parties, upon request, on a regional basis, in
the following areas:
- the co-ordination of regional emergency response activities, and
- the provision of a forum for discussion of such activities and related
topics.
- establishing and maintaining liaison with:
- competent regional and international organizations, and
- appropriate entities conducting activities in the Eastern African
region including major oil producers, refiners, clean-up contractors and
cooperatives for marine pollution incidents, and transporters of oil and other
harmful substances.
- maintaining a current inventory of equipment, materials and expertise
readily available in the Eastern African region to deal with a marine
pollution incident;
- disseminating information on the prevention and combating of marine
pollution incidents;
- identifying or maintaining means for marine emergency response
communications;
- encouraging research by the Contracting Parties, competent international
organizations and appropriate entities on marine pollution-related matters,
including the environmental impacts of spillages of oil and other harmful
substances and materials and techniques used for combating such spillages;
- assisting the Contracting Parties in the exchange of information pursuant
to article 4; and
- preparing reports and carrying out other duties assigned to it by the
Contracting Parties.
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Article 10
: MEETINGS OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES
- Ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to this Protocol shall be held
in conjunction with ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to the
Convention held pursuant to article 17 of the Convention. The Contracting
Parties to this Protocol may hold extraordinary meetings as provided for in
article 17 of the Convention.
- It shall be the function of the meetings of the Contracting Parties:
- to review the operation of this Protocol and to consider special technical
arrangements and other measures to improve its effectiveness; and
- to consider measures to improve co-operation under this Protocol
including, in accordance with article l9 of the Convention, possible
amendments to this Protocol.
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Article 11
: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS PROTOCOL AND THE CONVENTION
- The provisions of the Convention relating to its protocols shall apply to
this Protocol.
- The rules of procedure and the financial rules adopted pursuant to article
21 of the Convention shall apply to this Protocol, unless the Contracting
Parties to this Protocol agree otherwise.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized by their
respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
Done at Nairobi this twenty-first day of June one thousand nine hundred and eighty-five in a single copy in the English and French languages, the two
texts being equally authentic.
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Annex
GUIDELINES FOR THE REPORT TO BE MADE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 5, PARAGRAPH 1, OF
THIS PROTOCOL
- Each report shall, as far as possible, contain:
- the identification of the source of pollution (e.g. identity of the ship,
fixed or floating platform or any other structure), where appropriate;
- the geographic position, time and date of the observation or of the
occurrence of the incident; and
- the marine meteorological conditions prevailing in the sea.
- Each report shall contain, whenever possible, in particular,
- a clear indication or description of oil or other harmful substances
involved; and
- a statement or estimate of the quantities, concentrations, nature (oil or
a noxious liquid, solid or gaseous substance) and likely conditions of oil or
other harmful substances discharged or likely to be discharged into the sea.
- Each report shall be supplemented, as necessary, by any relevant
information requested by a recipient of the report or deemed appropriate by
the person sending the report.
- Any of the persons referred to in article 5 paragraph 1. of this Protocol
shall:
- supplement as far as possible the initial report, as necessary, with
information concerning further developments; and
- comply as fully as possible with requests from affected States for
additional information.
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