Kuwait has become the latest country to ban single-plastic onboard ships within its territorial waters.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Communications announced the new policy in a circular issued late last month, according to the Gard P&I club.
It prohibits the use of certain single-use plastic items onboard Kuwaiti and foreign ships while in port in Kuwait or in Kuwaiti waters.
The items banned have been divided into two categories; items which are banned with immediate effect, and items which will be prohibited as of 1 January 2020.
Items prohibited with immediate effect include cutlery, plates and cups; bottles up to 10 liters for water and other drinks; garbage and shopping bags as well as dispensing containers for cleaning fluids that are less than 10 liters in volume.
Those items banned from 1 January 2020 include bags, trays, containers, food packaging film; milk bottles, freezer bags, shampoo bottles, ice cream containers; bottles for water and other drinks, dispensing containers for cleaning fluids, biscuit trays; hot drink cups, insulated food packaging, protective packaging for fragile items; and microwave dishes, ice cream tubs, potato ship bags, bottle caps.
The new rule prohibits the carriage of any of the above items onboard Kuwaiti-flagged ships, according to an alert published by Gard.
Foreign-flagged ships are only prohibited from using any such item while in Kuwaiti waters and must keep all their single-use plastic items locked in a store during their stay in Kuwaiti ports and during their passage through its territorial waters.
Kuwait will require foreign-flagged ships to make a log entry identifying the single use plastic items available onboard the ship; where the items are stored while the ship operates in the country’s territorial waters; and when the items were placed in the store prior to entering territorial waters.
However, the country has said that no detention of foreign ships will be enforced on basis of the single-use plastic prohibitions when in force.
Separately, Indian proposed policy to prohibit the use of certain single-use plastic items onboard ships announced earlier this year has been postponed for the time being.
“In order to enable the shipping industry to put in place the necessary logistical arrangements to comply with the policy, the Indian Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) have agreed to work with the industry to establish a revised implementation schedule,” said Gard.
The P&I club highlighted that it was important to note that, both Kuwait and India will no longer permit single-use plastic items to be discharged to their port reception facilities.
“Ships trading frequently to India or Kuwait may therefore have to adjust their garbage management plan accordingly in order to facilitate discharge of single use plastic items elsewhere,” it said.
