A Study Of The Laws On The Prevention Of Marine Environment Pollution Caused By Ship's Garbage

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS 1982),Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships,1973,as amended by the 1978 Protocol(MARPOL 73/78),1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matter(London Convention 1972)and London Protocol 1996 are important International Conventions for the prevention and control of marine pollution caused by ships.The UNCLOS 1982 confirms that marine environmental pollution has many different sources:from the mainland,from the operation of ships,from oil exploitation,from natural leaks,etc.The MARPOL 73/78 identified six sources of marine environmental pollution,including oil pollution,noxious liquid substances in bulk,harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form,sewage,garbage,and air pollution.In particular,issues related to oil pollution have been always the subject of research.Meanwhile,other sources of pollution from ships do not seem to have the proper attention.Ship' s garbage is an example.Studies have shown that ships will generate a lot of garbage during operation,especially plastic waste.This type of waste not only causes the death of many marine animals,but also damages the coastal environment,danger to ships,and even adversely affects human health.The waters of Vietnam are located on important international maritime routes on the world.Every day,a large number of ships cross the Vietnamese waters or enter and leave the Vietnamese ports.At the same time,there are a large number of Vietnamese cargo ships and fishing vessels operating in domestic waters.Therefore,the waters of Vietnam are also facing the risk of environmental pollution by ships,including the ship's garbage.In order to prevent marine pollution caused by garbage from ships,China,the United States,and Australia have not only formulated domestic laws and regulations but also actively participated in relevant International Conventions and incorporated the provisions of these Conventions into domestic laws.So far,Vietnam's relevant laws in this field still have defects and deficiencies.Initially,Vietnam has not developed a special law to solve the problem of marine environmental pollution caused by ship garbage.Secondly,the delay in taking part in and implementation of International Conventions is also considered as one of the causes leading to the incomplete law of Vietnam.Vietnam just became a member of MARPOL 73/78 Annex V in 2014,while other countries became members soon after the Annex entered into force.Since its accession,although Vietnam has made a lot of efforts to implement the Convention,however,it has not achieved the expected results.Finally,London Convention 1972 and London Protocol 1996 are also important International Conventions on the prevention and control of garbage from ships,however,at present Vietnam is still unclear whether to join or not?This dissertation mainly studies the International Conventions,the laws of various countries,compares countries' accession and implementation of the Conventions.In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Conventions and the valuable experience of various countries,specific suggestions have been made for the improvement of relevant laws in Vietnam.Therefore,the author hopes that the above suggestions will be the basis for Vietnam to consult to improve the law on marine pollution prevention due to the ship's garbage.At the same time,lay the foundation for the study to perfect the law to prevent and control other pollution sources of ships that harm the marine environment.The dissertation divided into Introduction,Conclusion and 5 chapters.Introduction:this part analyzes the reasons for choosing the topic,the relevant domestic and international achievements in the prevention and control of ship' s garbage pollution.An overview of the potential hazards that the ship's garbage may cause to the marine environment,marine animals,and even human health.Besides,the author also collected data on the total amount of waste generated onboard a ship and the amount of waste discharged into the marine environment.At the same time,this part also discusses objectives and methodologies.Finally,the international and regional treaties to combat with plastic from ships,the significance of the prevention of marine pollution by garbage from ships,the role of law on the prevention of marine environmental pollution by garbage from ships in Vietnam.Chapter 1 focuses on the study of Vietnam's current laws relating to the prevention of pollution of the marine environment due to the ship's garbage.Besides,the author puts forward the limitations and deficiencies of Vietnam's laws and points out the direction for perfecting Vietnam' s laws of this field.Chapter 2 analyzes the regulations of the "1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" to prevent the ship's garbage from polluting the marine environment.Firstly,it is clarifying the development of the Convention and its importance in the prevention of marine pollution due to the ship's garbage.After that,the author focuses on analyzing and comparing Vietnam's joining and implementing the Convention with othercountries(such as China,Australia and the United States).In addition,the achievements and limitations of Vietnam in the implementation of the Convention were clarified.Finally,through the above analysis,it is pointed out that Vietnam needs to improve laws on prevention of marine pollution due to the ship's garbage.The primary task of Chapter 3 is to analyze the regulations of MARPOL 73/78 on preventing marine pollution due to the ship's garbage.The second task is to analyze and compare the accession and implementation of the Convention in Vietnam and other countries.Inadequacies in the implementation of the International Convention of Vietnam can be seen through the above analysis and comparison.Finally,the experience of relevant countries in participating in and implementing the International Convention is valuable for Vietnam to quickly improve laws of this field.Chapter 4 focuses on the analysis of the provisions of the 1972 London Convention and its Protocol.Besides,the author also analyzes and compares the accession and implementation of the Convention in Vietnam and other countries.Through the above analysis and comparison,the author pointed out the flaws of Vietnam's laws of this field,which will become the basis for the improvement suggestions in the next chapter.Based on the comprehensive analysis and comparison of the previous chapters,chapter 5 gives directions for the improvement of the Vietnamese law.On the one hand,the author provided detailed legal amendment suggestions to improve the laws on preventing marine environmental pollution due to the ship's garbage.On the other hand,to effectively implement the International Convention,Vietnam needs to create a special regulation on the prevention and control of ship's garbage pollution.The Conclusion presents the summaries of the content of the dissertation,the main contributions,and suggestions for future research.