Four States deposited their instruments of ratification of the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 2010 (2010 HNS Convention), bringing the treaty’s entry into force a step closer.
The 2010 HNS Convention aims to ensure adequate, prompt, and effective compensation for those affected by incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) carried on seagoing ships. This is particularly relevant given the increasing amounts of chemicals and alternative fuels being transported in bulk by sea.
There are now 12 Contracting States to the 2010 Protocol to the HNS Convention, meeting the number of States criteria for entry into force. The treaty requires at least 12 States to express their consent to be bound by it, including four States each with not less than 2 million units of gross tonnage. Five of the eight States which had previously ratified the treaty had more than 2 million units of gross tonnage each.
The Protocol additionally requires States to submit to the IMO Secretary-General at the deposit of the instrument of ratification and annually thereafter, on or before 31 May (until the Protocol enters into force for that State), data on the total quantities of HNS contributing cargo liable for contributions received in that State during the preceding calendar year.
The 2010 HNS Protocol will enter into force 18 months after the contracting Parties have received during the preceding calendar year a total quantity of at least 40 million tonnes of cargo contributing to the HNS general account. The total quantity received by Belgium, Germany, the Kingdom of Netherlands and Sweden in 2025 is almost 28 million tonnes of HNS contributing cargo.
This means that the HNS contributing cargo data received by existing eight contracting States in 2025 (they received a total of more than 22 million HNS contributing cargo in 2024) will be assessed after 31 May 2026, in order to confirm the entry into force date 18 months later, i.e. 30 November 2027 the earliest.