From January 27th to January 31st, 2025, the 12th Session of the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response of the International Maritime Organization was held in London. The Chinese delegation, comprising representatives from the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, the Maritime Task Force of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom, the Fisheries and Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Classification Society, as well as the Maritime Safety Administrations of Shanghai, Hebei, Shandong, Guangdong, and Shenzhen, participated in the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Anita Mäkinen (Finland) and covered a total of 16 agenda items. Three working groups were established, focusing on marine biosecurity, prevention of air pollution from ships, and shipboard plastic waste. Additionally, two drafting groups were formed to address amendments to Annex IV of the MARPOL Convention, transportation of biofuel blends by bunker vessels, and related matters under Annex I of the MARPOL Convention. The discussions led to the formulation of draft documents including the "Interim Guidelines on the Carriage of Biofuels and MARPOL Annex I Oil Mixtures by Traditional Bunker Vessels," "Guidelines for Underwater Cleaning of Ship Biofouling," "Guidance on Environmental Risk Assessment for the Discharge of Wash Water," "2025 Action Plan for Reducing Plastic Pollution from Ships," and "Amendments to the 2023 Guidelines for the Development of Inventory of Hazardous Materials." These drafts will be submitted to the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) for consideration and approval. All eight proposals submitted by China achieved the expected outcomes.