consideration at the Committee's 25th Session on 30 November-3 

 December 1987. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration subsequently took the lead in initial drafting 

 of the guidelines, and the Marine Mammal Commission assisted 

 by drafting the chapter of the guidelines on procedures for 

 handling and storing garbage aboard ship. 



The draft guidelines were submitted by the Coast Guard 

 for consideration by the Committee at its 25th session. With 

 some modifications made during the meeting, the Committee 

 indicated that it agreed with the scope and content of the 

 draft guidelines but that further editorial improvements were 

 needed. Therefore, it was agreed that the modified guidelines 

 would be distributed to the full Committee to be revised as 

 necessary and adopted at the 26th Session of the Committee on 

 5-9 September 1988. 



During its 26th Session, the Committee considered and 

 adopted "Guidelines for the Implementation of Annex V, 

 Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from 

 Ships." In doing so, the Committee approved certain 

 modifications, which, among other things, clarified that 

 disposal of ship-generated garbage at port reception facilities 

 should be encouraged even for those types of garbage that 

 were allowed under the Annex to be discharged at sea. It was 

 noted that the guidelines would provide useful guidance for 

 national authorities in developing their respective programs 

 for implementing Annex V, and the Committee asked the 

 Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization to 

 request that knowledge of the guidelines be included in the 

 curriculum of the World Maritime University. 



The objectives of the adopted guidelines are to: 

 (1) assist governments in developing and enacting domestic 

 laws which give force to and implement Annex V; (2) assist 

 vessel operators in complying with the requirements set forth 

 in Annex V and domestic laws; and (3) assist port and terminal 

 operators in assessing the need for, and providing, adequate 

 reception facilities for garbage generated on different types 

 of ships. The guidelines include sections on: training, 

 education, and enforcement; minimizing the amount of potential 

 garbage; shipboard garbage handling and storage procedures; 

 shipboard equipment for processing garbage; port reception 

 facilities for garbage; and ensuring compliance with the Annex. 



As noted above, Annex V provides for designating Special 

 Areas where more stringent garbage disposal requirements 

 apply. When the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to 

 ratify Annex V, it expressed its understanding that every 

 reasonable effort would be taken to secure that status for 

 the Gulf of Mexico. Within Special Areas, no ship-generated 

 garbage may be discharged, except for food wastes, which can 



145 



