Background. The Ocean Cleanup seeks to remove as much floating plastic as possible from the oceans. To do so, it plans to deploy a number of floating systems to each gyre. Such gyres are areas in which the concentration of plastic is generally significantly greater than in other parts of the ocean. Plastic that drifts into a gyre becomes trapped there for decades, gradually disintegrating into ever smaller pieces. The systems will be transported to the high seas by ship and positioned in the gyres. These systems will be an estimated one to two kilometres long and will not be fixed to the seabed or actively steered or controlled. Since the system’s relative velocity will differ from that of the floating plastic, it will be able to collect plastic that is floating in the gyres. Periodically, a ship will sail to each system to take on board the collected plastic, which will then be brought back to land for recycling. The systems will move at a relatively low velocity of one to two knots, and will be followed from a distance. In 2018, The Ocean Cleanup will deploy a single system in the gyre in the North Pacific Ocean from San Francisco in the United States. The intention is to deploy multiple systems of a similar kind over the next few years to all the subtropical gyres (the North Pacific Gyre, South Pacific Gyre, Indian Ocean Gyre, North Atlantic Gyre and South Atlantic Gyre). This agreement has been drafted so as to take into account the continuous development of the system’s design, with a view to maximising its performance, expanding the number of systems, and increasing the number of areas in which the systems will be deployed. Removing plastic from the upper surface layer of the ocean is an essential and appealing part of the plan to rid the oceans of waste. The Netherlands values innovative developments that promote the government’s policy objectives. At the same time, States have a duty of care in relation to all operations, activities and processes that are conducted under their jurisdiction or control outside those areas where they exercise sovereign rights under the terms of various international conventions (e.g. on the basis of article 194, paragraph 2 of UNCLOS). Since Stichting The Ocean Cleanup and The Ocean Cleanup Projects B.V. are both Dutch legal entities, the Netherlands has an obligation to ensure that the activities undertaken by The Ocean Cleanup are at least in accordance with international standards in order to guarantee that the marine environment, maritime safety, and the rights of other users of the high seas are not put in jeopardy.
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