The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has opened the thirteenth session of its Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 13), with Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez calling on delegates to turn environmental policy into effective operational standards for the shipping industry.
Opening the meeting on Monday, Dominguez highlighted the IMO’s 2026-2027 World Maritime Day theme, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence,” which will run for two years for the first time. He said the extended theme reflects the organisation’s focus on ensuring that regulations agreed at IMO are implemented through national legislation, enforcement and daily operations across the maritime sector.
The PPR sub-committee plays a central role in translating IMO environmental commitments into practical measures, he told delegates, as they begin a week of deliberations covering multiple MARPOL annexes and emerging pollution issues.
Under MARPOL Annex I, the sub-committee is expected to finalise revisions to guidelines and regulations governing systems for handling oily wastes in ship machinery spaces. Work will also continue under Annex II to assess the safety and pollution hazards of chemicals transported in bulk.
For MARPOL Annex IV, delegates are progressing revisions aimed at ensuring the lifetime performance of shipboard sewage treatment plants, while efforts to tackle marine plastic litter under Annex V remain ongoing.
On air emissions, discussions under MARPOL Annex VI will include a review of the NOx emission control and compliance framework. Delegates will also consider black carbon emissions in the Arctic and issues related to discharge water from exhaust gas cleaning systems.
The session marks the start of work on a legally binding framework to control and manage ships’ biofouling, building on the IMO’s 2023 Biofouling Guidelines and recently approved guidance on in-water cleaning.
A total of 154 submissions have been lodged for the meeting, underlining the scale of the agenda and the level of industry and government engagement. Dominguez said the challenge for delegates will be to navigate the workload and deliver “sound regulatory outcomes” that improve the environmental performance of international shipping.
The meeting is being chaired by Dr Anita Mäkinen of Finland and runs from 9 to 13 February at IMO headquarters in London.
