Geneva
On 28 January 2010 Ukraine acceded to the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN), bringing the number of Contracting Parties to thirteen.In a ceremony at the Palais des Nations, Deputy Minister and Head of the State Administration of Maritime and Inland Water Transport of Ukraine, Mr. Mykhailo Chubai, handed over the instrument of accession to the Executive Secretary of UNECE, Mr. Ján Kubiš.
The ADN was established to increase the safety of international carriage of dangerous goods by inland waterways and prevent pollution resulting from accidents or incidents during such carriage, whilst facilitating international transport and trade.
For more information, see http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/danger.htm or contact: Olivier Kervella at [email protected], Tel. +41 (0) 22 917 2456
Note to editors
The Agreement was done on 26 May 2000 in Geneva at a Diplomatic Conference organized jointly by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). It entered into force on 29 February 2008.
The thirteen Contracting Parties are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine. Other States (Czech Republic and Italy) have signed the Agreement and are expected to ratify it in the near future.
The ADN includes a number of annexed Regulations. These contain technical requirements for the international carriage of dangerous substances and articles in packages and in bulk on board inland navigation vessels and tank vessels, as well as uniform provisions concerning the construction and operation of such vessels. They also establish international requirements and procedures for inspections, issuance of certificates of approval, recognition of classification societies, monitoring, and training and examination of experts.
The annexed Regulations are updated every two years to take into account technical progress, new safety concerns and the development of parallel legal instruments concerning international transport of dangerous goods by other modes of transport. Amendments are prepared by the Safety Committee, which is a joint UNECE/CCNR meeting of experts for consideration by the Administration Committee..
Only Contracting Parties to the ADN may vote in the legal procedures of the Administrative Committee. UNECE member States with international inland waterway transport which are not yet Parties are therefore encouraged to ratify or accede to the ADN. Thus they would not only enjoy the benefits it can bring in terms of enhanced safety, environmental protection and trade facilitation, but also exert their rights with respect to the further development of the Regulations.
Ref: ECE/TRANS/10/P01