Singapore AFS Convention
- 2010-01-06
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Singapore on Friday acceded to an international eco-friendly shipping convention. It deposited its Instrument of Accession to the International Convention on the Control of Harmful The Convention will apply to ships registered with Singapore and also to ships calling at the Port of Singapore. Singapore's accession nofollowed consultations with the Singapore Shipping Association and the Association of Singapore Marine Industries.
Mr Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said: 'As one of the world's busiest port, protection of the marine environment is of great importance to Singapore.
Singapore's accession to the AFS Convention underscores our commitment to environmentally-friendly shipping and port activities.'
Anti-fouling paints/systems are used to coat the hulls of a ship to prevent fouling organisms such as algae and molluscs from attaching to it. If allowed to build up, these fouling organisms would reduce the speed of the vessel or increase the fuel consumption to maintain a certain speed. Some of these anti-fouling paints contain chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment.
The AFS Convention bans the use of harmful anti-fouling paints/systems on the hulls of new and existing ships and encourages the use of environment friendly anti-fouling paints such as silicon paint.
The accession to the AFS Convention adds to the list of IMO Conventions on the protection of the marine environment which Singapore had ratified and implemented.
