Shura Approves Maritime Emissions Pact

Bill brings Bahrain under international rules to curb ship emissions

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Shura Council approved a bill on Sunday allowing Bahrain to join a global maritime pact aimed at cutting ship emissions after the government confirmed that ports, ship operators and the private sector were ready to meet its terms.

The bill brings Bahrain under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, attached to Decree No. 7 of 2026. The annex deals with air pollution from ships, mainly through rules on fuel, engines and vessel operation.

Bader Hood Al Mahmood, Undersecretary for Ports and Maritime Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, told the chamber that Bahrain had checked the ground first.

“The government does not join any annex of an international convention before making sure all its terms can be fully carried out in Bahrain—operationally, financially and technically,” he said.

He said Annex VI covers two main areas: the fuel ships use and the engines that produce emissions. Bahrain, he added, was ready to apply the rules through its ports, ship operators and the relevant bodies.

Mr Al Mahmood said Bahrain has more than 230 registered ships, but the annex would cover only 62 of them. He said the government, the private sector and ship operators were ready for the financial and operational duties tied to accession.

Regarding the delay, he said the government wanted to ensure both state bodies and the private sector could carry out the international duties. Bahrain joined the main convention in 2005, when Annexes I and II were mandatory, after confirming that those duties could be fully met, he said.

The other annexes were optional. Mr Al Mahmood said Bahrain chose to join Annex VI now so it could participate in talks at the International Maritime Organisation regarding how the rules are applied and any limits that might affect Bahrain’s economy and the Gulf economy.

“Not joining would have deprived Bahrain of the right to vote on international decisions with an economic effect,” he said. Joining, he added, gives Bahrain the right to participate, vote, and defend its interests in matters affecting the maritime sector and the wider economy.

The Shura Council’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee said the bill builds on Bahrain’s earlier accession to the 1973 convention, as amended by the 1978 protocol, and fits with the Maritime Law issued by Law No. 10 of 2022.

The committee also linked the bill to Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the kingdom’s aim of reaching net zero by 2060. Mr Al Mahmood said Annex VI was among the main items Bahrain had studied so it could join ‘at the right time’.