The 2000 OPRC- HNS PROTOCOL
Introduction: HNS Protocol
The Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000 (HNS Protocol) follows the principles of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, 1990 (OPRC) and was formally adopted by States already Party to the OPRC Convention at a Diplomatic Conference held at IMO headquarters in London in March 2000.
Entry into force will be twelve months after ratification by not less than fifteen States.
Like the OPRC Convention, the HNS Protocol aims to provide a global framework for international co-operation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollution. Parties to the HNS Protocol will be required to establish measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in co-operation with other countries. Ships will be required to carry a shipboard pollution emergency plan to deal specifically with incidents involving HNS
HNS definition
HNS are defined by reference to lists of substances included in various IMO Conventions and Codes. These include oils; other liquid substances defined as noxious or dangerous; liquefied gases; liquid substances with a flashpoint not exceeding 60°C; dangerous, hazardous and harmful materials and substances carried in packaged form; and solid bulk materials defined as possessing chemical hazards.
The HNS Protocol, when it comes into force, will ensure that ships carrying hazardous and noxious liquid substances are covered, or will be covered, by regimes similar to those already in existence for oil incidents.
In 1996, IMO adopted the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) by sea, which provides for a compensation and liability regime for incidents involving these substances (it has not yet entered into force).
Liability and compensation regimes for oil pollution incidents are covered by the 1992 Protocols to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969 and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971.
Status of ratifications:
