Mandatory regulations on the protection of seafarers during MSC this week
At the IMO Maritime Safety Committee meeting just held, it was decided to introduce mandatory regulations on the protection of seafarers against noise.
One of the goals of the Danish Maritime Authority is to turn all important Danish regulations within marine engineering into international regulations. This would enhance the competitiveness of Danish shipping and contribute worldwide to improving safety on board ships.
Following extensive work in the IMO, the Maritime Safety Committee has just adopted international, binding regulations on noise in ships. The regulations are an almost complete implementation of the noise standards that have applied to Danish ships for several years. The adoption of the provisions has created a better framework for seafarers’ working environment worldwide. The new regulations lay down mandatory noise limits in the areas on board ships where seafarers work and are accommodated during their spare time. They will enter into force for new ships constructed after 1 July 2014.
The IMO Maritime Safety Committee also considered important safety-related issues, such as passenger ship safety in the wake of the accident with the cruise ship COSTA CONCORDIA, new regulations on ships’ safety management systems, the drawing up of guidelines on safety when transferring persons at sea as well as regulations on the rescue of persons from the sea.
Two awards were presented in connection with the meeting:
- The IMO Awards for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2012, which was presented to a rescue swimmer from Chile as well as a team of rescue divers from Canada for their efforts to rescue human lives at sea putting their own lives in great peril, cf. the IMO webpage: http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/51-bravery-.aspx
- The International Maritime Prize 2011 was presented to Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General Emeritus of the IMO. cf. the IMO webpage: http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/52-maritime-prize-mitropoulos.aspx
The Committee re-elected Deputy Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority Christian Breinholt as Chairman and Captain Muhammed Segar from Singapore as Vice-Chairman of the MSC for the year 2013.
Source: Danish Maritime Authority
