Chapter VII — Impacts of Marine Debris 
Plans call for holding the meeting in Miami, 
Florida, in May 1994. The venue was selected to 
emphasize marine debris issues in and around the 
North Atlantic Ocean basin, particularly in the wider 
Caribbean region which recently was added to the list 
of Special Areas under Annex V of the Convention 
for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (see 
below). Objectives of the meeting are to review the 
state of knowledge regarding the amounts and impacts 
of marine debris and to develop international frame- 
works for controlling the principal sources of debris. 
Proposed conference sessions will address the 
amounts, types, and distribution of marine debris; its 
impacts; and its origins, including vessel-based, 
recreational, urban, and rural coastal/upland sources. 
A preliminary conference announcement is expect- 
ed to be circulated early in 1993. 
Annex V of the 
International Convention for the 
Prevention of Pollution from Ships 
The International Convention for the Prevention of 
Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is an international 
agreement signed in 1973 to establish a cooperative 
framework for controlling deliberate and accidental 
pollution of the marine environment from ships. A 
protocol to the Convention concluded in 1978 added 
five annexes that address particular forms of pollution, 
as follows: Annex I, oil pollution; Annex II, noxious 
liquid substances carried in bulk; Annex III, harmful 
substances carried in packaged form or freight con- 
tainers; Annex IV, sewage; and Annex V, ship- 
generated garbage. 
Three principal features of Annex V_ include 
(1) prescribed limits on the at-sea disposal of ship- 
generated garbage, including a prohibition on disposal 
of plastics (see Table 13); (2) the establishment of 
“Special Areas” where more stringent discharge 
restrictions apply; and (3) a requirement that nations 
ensure that ports have suitable, convenient reception 
facilities to receive and properly dispose of ship- 
generated garbage returned to port. Discharge 
restrictions in Annex V apply to all vessels except 
government vessels, including military ships. 
153 
Annex V is an optional annex, which means that 
separate action is required by nations wishing to 
accede to its provisions. The criteria needed for this 
Annex to enter into force were met on 31 December 
1987, and its provisions became binding on signatory 
nations one year later. At the end of 1987, 31 nations 
(including the United States) representing more than 
50 percent of the world’s commercial shipping ton- 
nage had ratified or otherwise accepted Annex V. As 
of the end of 1992, this had increased to 59 nations. 
As contracting parties, these nations are obligated to 
incorporate the Annex’s provisions into their domestic 
laws. Notwithstanding the exception for government 
vessels, domestic laws apply to all vessels registered 
within that country wherever they travel and to all 
foreign vessels while they are within that nation’s 
jurisdictional waters. 
The Marine Environment Protection Committee of 
the International Maritime Organization is responsible 
for overseeing international cooperation relative to this 
Convention, and the U.S. Coast Guard acts as the 
lead agency representing the United States at its 
meetings. Committee meetings are held at the organi- 
zation’s headquarters in London, England. Recent 
U.S. and international efforts relative to Annex V are 
discussed below. 
Domestic Regulations 
In April 1989 the U.S. Coast Guard adopted 
interim rules to implement the provisions of Annex V 
in the United States. Final rules were adopted in 
September 1990. Since then the Coast Guard, in 
cooperation with the Department of Agriculture’s 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has 
steadily increased enforcement efforts regarding these 
regulations. In 1989, 30 violation cases were initiat- 
ed; in 1990, there were 100 cases; in 1991, 120 
cases; and through June 1992, 88 cases. A number of 
these violations involved non-U.S. flag vessels. 
Enforcement of Convention provisions has histor- 
ically been done under a flag-state system. This 
means that violations by foreign-flag vessels that 
occur outside of the U.S. territorial sea (i.e., beyond 
three nautical miles from shore) but within the U.S. 
200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone are referred 
through the State Department to the national govern- 
