This chapter provides information on some important legal issues and recent regulatory
developments in the fields of transport and trade facilitation, together with information on the
status of some of the main maritime conventions. Important matters include the entry into force,
in 2015, of the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, as well as a
range of regulatory developments relating to environmental and related issues and to maritime
and supply-chain security.
Thus, to further support the implementation of a set of technical and operational measures to
increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, additional
guidelines and amendments were adopted by IMO in April 2014. Work also continued on
regulations to reduce emissions of other toxic substances from burning fuel oil, particularly SOx
and NOx, which significantly contribute to air pollution from ships. Progress has also been made
in respect of the environmental and other provisions of the draft Polar Code.
Continued progress has been made regarding the implementation of the existing framework and
programmes in the field of maritime and supply-chain security. As concerns maritime piracy, it
is worth noting that the downward trend in incidents continued off the Coast of Somalia, the
Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean. However, the situation in the West African Gulf
of Guinea remained serious. A two-part substantive analytical report published by UNCTAD
highlights some of the trends, costs and trade-related implications of maritime piracy and takes
stock of regulatory and other initiatives that have been pursued by the international community
in an effort to combat the problem.
As regards international agreements on trade facilitation, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement
includes the obligation for WTO members to have a national trade-facilitation committee. This
is considered necessary for the implementation of many trade-facilitation measures, especially
if they involve several public institutions and private-sector stakeholders. This chapter presents
findings of a recent UNCTAD study on lessons learned and best practices for effective and
sustainable national trade-facilitation bodies.