The IMO Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships and Its Follow-Up Timeline

ABSTRACT On a global level, the pollution of the marine environment caused by marine plastic litter is becoming increasingly serious. Even if more than 80% of source of marine plastic litter comes from land-based activities, sea-based activities, such as losing fishing gear at sea, account for a significant amount of marine plastic litter. Accordingly, the discussion on the development of an action plan to address marine plastic litter from ships has begun since the IMO 73rd MEPC meeting. With regard to various measures to reduce marine plastic litter from ships at the international level, in this paper, the following issues will be introduced and discussed: (1) An accidental loss or discharge fishing gear (ALDFG) which has accounted for a significant portion of marine plastic litter from ships, (2) Encouragement for the ratification of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA) adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which outlines fishing vessel standards and includes other regulations designed to protect the safety of seafarers, (3) Development of a management system on containers lost at sea, which prevents a potential danger to maritime safety and a threat to the environment, particularly with regard to plastics, (4) Timeline of follow-up actions at the IMO level for the action plan to address marine plastic litter from ships. Finally, it emphasizes the fact that various and sensitive issues for solving marine plastic litter problems from ships still remain. Therefore, research in the aspect of related lpolicies and cooperation with related industries should be hightlighted based on the circumstances of each country.