13 Jul 2007 -London, UK
– After more than ten years of lobbying
by WWF, shipping states within the UN’s
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
have ratified legislation that bans the
use of tributyltin (TBT) in anti-fouling
systems of ships.
TBT is an organic compound often used as
an additive in many marine anti-fouling
paints, which kills algal and barnacle growth
and anything else that attaches to ships.
The problem is that the chemical is highly
toxic to many marine organisms. Even at
low concentrations it causes deformations
in oysters and genital changes in snails.
The decline of commercial oysters along
the Atlantic coast of France and the UK
in the 1970s is attributed to TBT contamination.
“This [the ban] is a tremendous victory
for the marine environment, but one that
is long overdue,” said Dr Simon Walmsley,
Head of WWF-UK’s Marine Programme.
“It has been over forty years since TBT’s
negative impacts were first identified and
seven years since legislation to ban TBT
was agreed, yet we have only now achieved
a global ban.”
Panama, which flags one of the world’s
biggest shipping fleets, helped bring about
the ban. A total of 25 states representing
25 per cent of world shipping tonnage had
to ratify the IMO’s anti-fouling systems
convention to bring the ban into force globally.
The global ban will be introduced in 12
months time. Any vessel still using anti-fouling
paints which contain TBT will have to use
a safer alternative.
Debbie Chapman, Senior Press Officer
WWF-UK
