China’s law and practice as a coastal state for the prevention of vessel-source pollution

• Main Author: LIU, Nengye
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Environmental Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4129; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6087/viewcontent/29OceanYB343.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

China is a major maritime nation with 18,ooo km of mainland coastline.1 The marine environment is of fundamental importance for China's economic development and environmental protection. According to the National Report on Social and Economic Development, in 2010, China imported 239.31 million tonnes of crude oil and 36.88 million tonnes of refined oil.2 Approximately 95 percent of oil imports are carried by maritime transportation. This creates significant risk of marine pollution such as oil, oily wastes and invasive species from ballast wateL Globally, maritime transport is responsible for 12 percent of total marine pollution.3 The United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) deals with vessel-source pollution through Part XII on Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment, Part II on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, and Part V on the Exclusive Economic Zone.4 Under UNCLOS, the legislative or enforcement jurisdiction that a State may exercise in respect of a particular vessel varies according to whether it is a flag, coastal or port State. 5 UNCLOS creates a jurisdictional regime for the prevention of vessel-source pollution. Furthermore, UNCLOS has designated the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the competent international organization to deal with vessel-source pollution. Under the auspices of the IMO, a number of conventions have been adopted to tackle the aforementioned problems such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). 6