Status of the HNS Convention and 2010 Protocol
IOPC Funds’ Director, Gaute Sivertsen (left), joins Arsenio Dominguez (fourth from left), Secretary-General of IMO, and Ambassadors of Belgium, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sweden on the occasion of the States’ deposit of instruments of accession/ratification to the 2010 HNS Protocol at IMO Headquarters on 14 April 2026.
Status of the HNS Convention and 2010 Protocol
The 2010 HNS Protocol will enter into force 18 months after the date on which it is ratified by at least twelve States, including four States each with not less than 2 million units of gross tonnage, and having received during the preceding calendar year a total quantity of at least 40 million tonnes of cargo that would be contributing to the general account.
As of 15 April 2026, the following twelve States have acceded to/ratified the 2010 HNS Convention: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden and Türkiye.
The most recent deposits of instruments of ratification or accession to the 2010 HNS Convention with the Secretary-General of IMO were undertaken by Belgium, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sweden at the 113th session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2026.
As a result, the condition regarding the number of parties required to trigger the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention has been met. With the latest ratifications and accessions, there are now nine Contracting Parties that have more than 2 million units of gross tonnage in their domestic shipping registries, thus well above the four required by Article 46 of the HNS Convention.
The final criterion for the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention is expected to be met on 31 May 2026 when all existing contracting States must submit their contributing cargo reports for 2025. The amounts reported by these States will be added to the 27,843,245 metric tonnes of contributing cargo reported by Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Next steps
The Director of the IOPC Funds has been tasked with carrying out the necessary work to establish the HNS Fund and to prepare for the first session of the HNS Fund Assembly, in collaboration with the IMO.
The IOPC Funds Secretariat undertakes a number of administrative tasks in cooperation with the IMO in this regard and remains available to support States and potential contributors in their efforts to prepare for ratification or accession to the HNS Convention.
States seeking further information or assistance are encourage to contact the IOPC Funds Secretariat via [email protected].