Experts Group on Maritime Safety

1. The seventh meeting of the Experts Group on Maritime Safety was held on October 17^th 2000 in Miyazaki.

2. Representatives of Australia, Canada, China, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and USA met to address Maritime Safety concerns in the region in order to identify problems and propose recommendations for improvement.

3. The meeting was chaired by Canada.

4. Prior to addressing the various issues, the Group reviewed the report of the sixth meeting held on March 28^th 2000 in Singapore.miliarize the attendees of the mandate and objective of the group, the terms of reference

5. In order to review prior work and faand the analysis and summary of the questionnaire to address safety issues in the region (living document) were re-visited.

6. The Philippines advised the status of the other living document, ¡§Regional Co-operation on Oil Spills Preparedness and Response Arrangements¡¨. A need was identified for review of plans for neighboring economies and further work was required to evaluate the current plans in place.

7. Members agreed that they would enter in the web site details of proposed oil spill seminars, exercises and conferences in order that other members could participate if appropriate.

8. At the fifth meeting, the group agreed that the Ministers responsible for Transport should be apprised of work that had been undertaken, ongoing initiatives, and work planned for the future. The meeting was advised that the Canadian Minister of Transport had recently written to his counterparts in the Region providing an interim report, advising details of the high priority safety list and proposed direction for the future work of the group.

A number of Economies had acknowledged this letter and supported the proposed work plan.

9. A successful intersessional meeting was held in conjunction with the seventy second session of the International Maritime Organization¡¦s Maritime Safety Committee in May 2000. The attendees agreed that these informal meetings are beneficial and will be held at future IMO Sessions. Intersessional work was also conducted efficiently by means of the EGMS email list server.

10. The group agreed that links to other forums should be pursued, e.g. Tokyo and Vina Del Mar MOU¡¦s on Port State Control and IMO and exchange of information with other economies on technical submissions should be encouraged. Members were advised of ongoing meetings of the Tokyo MOU, Vina Del Mar MOU, Asia Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies Forum, the Quality Shipping Seminar and other lateral group meetings of neighboring economies.

11. The High Priority Safety List and Initiatives to address these priorities were reviewed. The group agreed there is a need to rationalize these priorities and list them in a more sequential fashion which will be coordinated for the next session. Details of MOU¡¦s and agreements between economies will also be identified for inclusion.

12. The Republic of Korea provided an update on the project, ¡§To identify optimum Maritime Administrative structures and the Legal Framework for Safer Shipping in the Asia Pacific Region¡¨. A questionnaire has been developed and will be circulated soon. Responses will be sought prior to the end of the year in order that they be analyzed and a report prepared by April 2001.

13. Details of exchange of technical officers between member economies were discussed. The need for the continuance of this exchange was re-iterated and economies should be encouraged to give their support toward this.

14. Australia presented details of the ¡§International Symposium on Safer Shipping in the APEC Region¡¨. This symposium has received project funding support and will be held in Sydney, Australia 5-7 March 2001.

The Symposium will be more participatory than other consultative forums that have been held on this subject. Working group leaders and authors have yet to be

finalized and invitations to them will be sent soon.

The group agreed that this symposium is of great value in helping to eliminate

sub standard shipping and similar forums should be held periodically.

15. Australia presented details of the project ¡§Analysis of the economic benefits of the provision of hydrographic services in the APEC Region¡¨. This project has recently received funding approval which should be received in early 2001. The RFP will be developed and circulated inviting tenders soon after receipt of the funds.

16. Noting the concern and recommendation that had been expressed at the last meeting concerning Maritime Piracy, the group noted that the recently formed Experts Group on Transportation Security concurred with the Group¡¦s views and this will be proposed as an issue for the forthcoming Transportation Ministers meeting.

17. Australia presented a report on behalf of the Chairman of the International Commission on Shipping (ICONS). Economies were requested to participate in this study and to make submissions if they have not already done so.

18. The group noted that APEC TPT had been invited to attend the APEC Marine Resource Conservation Working Group and to submit a paper on oceans integration and governance. The Shepherds had passed this subject to EGMS for appropriate action. Canada agreed to prepare the paper and would represent TPT if desired.

19. The draft outline of the Group¡¦s report to the Ministers was reviewed which will be further refined intersessionally.

20. The EGMS joined the Maritime Initiative Group to participate in a joint presentation given by the Japanese Shipowners Association.

1. Place ¡¥Maritime Piracy¡¦ on the agenda of the forthcoming Transportation Ministers meeting.

2. Note that EGMS will liase with the newly formed group Experts Group on Transportation Security on matters relating to Maritime Security.

3. Note that the project ¡§To Identify Optimum Maritime Administrative Structures and the Legal Framework for Safer Shipping in the APEC Region¡¨ has commenced with an expected completion date of April 2001.

4. Note that the APEC funded ¡§International Symposium on Safer Shipping in the APEC Region¡¨ will be held in Sydney, Australia March 5-7 2001. Member economies are urged to contribute toward the organization of the seminar and to encourage safety experts from their economy to attend.

5. Note that an Intersessional meeting of the group was held in May 2000 during the IMO Maritime Safety Committee meeting.

6. Note that the project ¡§Safer Shipping in the Asia Pacific Region ¡V an integrated approach to developing appropriate regulatory and ecomic mechanisms to promote safer shipping in the Asia Pacific Region¡¨ has been completed.

7. Note that Canada will prepare the submission to the APEC Marine Resource Working Group and if requested, will attend this meeting and present the paper on behalf of TPT.

8. Note that funding approval has been obtained for the project ¡§Analysis of the Economic Benefits of the Provision of Hydrographic Services in the APEC Region¡¨ and that the RFP is expected to be circulated in early 2001.