THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE,
BEING AWARE that the Great Barrier Reef region has been inscribed on the World Heritage List established pursuant to the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the only exclusively marine area to have been so inscribed,
RECALLING that amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954, concerning the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, adopted on 12 October 1971, recognize the need to protect the Great Barrier Reef by defining the nearest land off the north-eastern coast of Australia as the outer edge of the Reef and prohibiting the discharge into the sea in its vicinity of oil, or oily mixtures, even in limited quantities, from ships,
RECALLING ALSO that Annexes I, II, IV and V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, recognize the need to protect the environment of the Great Barrier Reef, by defining the nearest land off the north-eastern coast of Australia as the outer edge of the reef and prohibiting the discharge into the sea in its vicinity of various harmful substances from ships,
NOTING that article 211(6) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is further evidence of the will of States to co-operate in defining vulnerable marine areas requiring a higher level of protection than that which generally applies,
NOTING ALSO resolution 9 of the International Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention (TSPP) 1978 concerning the protection of Particularly Sensitive Areas,
CONFIRMING that the Great Barrier Reef fulfils the criteria for identification as a particularly sensitive area, approved at the twenty-ninth session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee,
IDENTIFIES the Great Barrier Reef region as defined in the Annex to this resolution [MEPC 30/INF.12 will be attached] as a particularly sensitive area in terms of the Guidelines for the Designation of Special Areas and the Identification of Particularly Sensitive Areas approved by the thirtieth session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee.
ANNEX
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF REGION
The area is defined by the following boundary;
(a) commences at the point that, at low water, is the northernmost extremity of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland;
(b) runs thence easterly along the geodesic to the intersection of parallel of latitude 10*41'S with the meridian of longitude 145*00'E;
(c) runs thence southerly along that meridian to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 13*00'S;
(d) runs thence south-easterly along the geodesic to a point of latitude 15*30'S longitude 146*00'E;
(e) runs thence south-easterly along the geodesic to a point of latitude 17*30'S longitude 147*00'E',
(f) runs thence south-easterly along the geodesic to a point of latitude 21*00'S longitude l52*55'E;
(g) runs thence south-easterly along the geodesic to a point of latitude 24*30'S longitude 154*00'E;
(h) runs thence westerly along the parallel of latitude 24*30'S to its intersection by the coastline of Queensland at low water; and
(i) runs thence generally northerly along that coastline at low water to the point of commencement.
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W/1633D/EWP