At the eighty-third session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83), amendments to the guidelines for the development of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM), as required under the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, were discussed and were subsequently adopted on 11 April 2025 as RESOLUTION MEPC.405(83) "AMENDMENTS TO THE 2023 GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INVENTORY OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS (RESOLUTION MEPC.379(80))".

A summary of the amendments to the Guidelines is provided below.

･ The amendments to the "2023 Guidelines for the Development of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials" adopted on 7 July 2023, clarifying the threshold values of cybutryne in anti-fouling system coating samples, either taken from wet paint containers or taken directly from hull.

The Member Governments were invited to apply the amendments as soon as possible, and no later than 26 June 2025.

Given such short notice between the publication of the RESOLUTION MEPC.405(83) (hereinafter referred to as the "2025 revision of the IMO Guidelines") and its application date, ClassNK would request all concerned stakeholders to take the necessary actions as outlined below with respect to the 2025 revision of the IMO Guidelines.

-1. Actions for Ships Already Holding IHM Part I
(1) The persons responsible for the IHM maintenance are requested to confirm that, in principle, the Material Declarations (MDs) prepared on or after 26 June 2025 are based on the new format in accordance with the 2025 revision of the IMO Guidelines. In addition, the IHM maintenance procedures should be revised.

(2) "An Example of Procedure to Maintain Part I of IHM" published on the ClassNK website has already been updated to version 2025.06 to reflect the 2025 revision of the IMO Guidelines.
Therefore, if the current IHM maintenance procedures have been established based on the previous example, replacing "Appendix 6: Material Declaration" with the new version would ensure compliance with the 2025 revision of the IMO Guidelines.

(To be continued)