The Convention on liability and compensation for damage in connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea could be in place by 2013 as reported by Lloyds List today.

The protocol, known as the HNS Convention, currently has eight states as members, and will come into force 18 months after the 12th member state has ratified it, provided that four of the 12 states have fleets larger than 2m gt each.

Currently, Denmark, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey are on board, and International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds director Jose Maura feel that a domino effect will soon expand numbers of members as the member countries are regularly meeting at the IMO and IOPC fringe meetings.

Under the convention, which was adopted in 2010, HNS are defined by lists collated by various IMO conventions, including oils, noxious liquids, liquefied gases, dangerous hazardous materialsand solid bulk materials defined to possess chemical hazards. It also covers residues left by the previous carriage of HNS, other than those carried in packaged form.