New designation for Saba Bank

The Saba Bank, in the north-eastern Caribbean area of the Netherlands, has been formally designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The designation followed approval, in principle, at the previous session. Associated protective measures were approved by the sub committee on safety of navigation (NAV), namely, the establishment of a new mandatory “no anchoring” area for all ships and a new “area to be avoided” (for ships of 300 gross tonnage or over) in the proposed PSSA. The Saba Bank is the 13th PSSA to be designated by IMO.