By its decision VIII/9, the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, mindful of the need to reinforce cooperation between the Basel Convention and the International Maritime Organization with regard to the latter’s regulations on prevention of pollution from ships, invited information and views on:

1. The respective competencies of the Basel Convention and MARPOL 73/78 in respect of hazardous wastes and other wastes;
2. Any gaps between those instruments;
3. Any option for addressing those gaps.

By its decision OEWG-VI/18 reiterated this request for comments and any other relevant information, and requested the Secretariat to place the information received on the Basel Convention website. The comments received can be accessed on the following links:

• Response received from Colombia
• Response received from Norway
• Response received from the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization

By its decision IX/12, the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, recalling its decision VIII/9, reiterated its invitation to Parties to the Basel Convention to continue to provide information and views to the Secretariat on the issues listed under decision VIII/9. All such information received by the Secretariat would be compiled for consideration by the Open-ended Working Group at its next session and also placed on the Basel Convention website as it is received.

By the time of the seventh session of the Working Group, the Secretariat had not received such further information. During its seventh session, the Working Group adopted Decision OEWG-VII/13 concerning cooperation between the International Maritime Organization and the Basel Convention. The decision requests the Secretariat, within available resources, to provide a legal analysis of the application of the Basel Convention to hazardous wastes and other wastes generated on board ships and to publish such analysis on the website of the Basel Convention by 31 March 2011 and invites Parties to submit comments on it by 30 June 2011. The decision also invites the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization to submit to the Basel Convention Secretariat any further comments, views or information that it may have on the following:

1. The respective competencies of the Basel Convention and the 1978 Protocol to the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships in respect of hazardous wastes and other wastes and harmful substances;
2. Any gaps between those instruments;
3. Any options for addressing those gaps, if any, such as may exist under other legal instruments of the International Maritime Organization;
4. Any other relevant information.

The decision adopted by the Working Group further requests the Secretariat to cooperate closely with the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization on this issue and to publish any information received on the website of the Basel Convention for possible further comments by Parties and others.

In response to this invitation, the IMO has sent a letter to the Secretariat.