Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ABS issued a guide for ‘Mitigation of Infectious Disease Transmission On Board Marine and Offshore Assets’, including an industry’s first introduction of a notation indicating compliance with the standards.
Developed from a range of independent governmental and commercial guidance, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the guide addresses physical arrangement measures onboard.
The optional IDM-A (Infectious Disease Mitigation-Arrangements) notation is offered to vessels that meet the arrangement requirements addressing the configuration of spaces which can be used for the isolation and segregation of crew, passengers and onshore visitors, as well as the ventilation and interior surfaces of certain accommodation or working spaces.
Floating assets are every bit as vulnerable to outbreaks of infectious disease as land-based facilities, as the current pandemic has demonstrated. This new guidance responds to the pressing industry need for strategies to mitigate the transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and a range of other hazards. The notation breaks new ground for the industry, allowing operators and owners to clearly demonstrate that the risks of infectious outbreaks have been considered,
…said Gareth Burton, ABS Vice President, Global Technology.
The following drawings and documents are to be prepared and submitted to ABS Engineering for review when the IDM-A notation is requested:
- General Arrangement-type plan view of each deck annotating the various spaces on each deck. Plan views of all accommodation and work spaces, including any portable modules, are to be included.
- The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system schematics/layout drawings and design specifications for all accommodation and work spaces, including any portable modules, if installed on board the asset.
- List of materials used for surfaces in isolation cabins, anterooms, medical facilities, sanitary and office spaces designated for use by shore personnel and visitors during an outbreak, and the solid infectious waste storeroom. Materials used for floors, bulkheads, and furniture are to be submitted.
If any of the portable modules installed on board an asset to satisfy the requirements for the IDM-A notation are removed from an asset, the asset will no longer maintain the IDM-A notation.
A prerequisite for obtaining the optional IDM-A notation is a valid Ship Sanitation Certificate (e.g., Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate or Ship Sanitation Control Certificate) for all marine vessels that are required to have one as per the International Health Regulations.
Initial surveys
The process for obtaining the IDM-A notation is to comprise ABS Engineering reviews and ABS Surveyor verifications. The ABS Surveyor is to verify the following:
i) Accommodation and work spaces and equipment are in accordance with the requirements specified in Section 2 of this Guide.
ii) Availability of documents on board the asset providing evidence that the requirements of Subsection 1/5 have been satisfied. This means that a valid Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate or Ship Sanitation Control Certificate is present on board marine vessels. For offshore assets or assets not required to have the Ship Sanitation Certificates, the ABS Surveyor is to verify that a valid evidence of satisfying the requirements of the flag State, coastal State Authority, or any other jurisdictions which have responsibility for the food and water safety, waste management, and vector control is present on board the offshore asset.
iii) The negative pressure of at least –2.5 Pa (–0.01 inches of water column) inside anterooms and isolation cabins is to be verified by the ABS Surveyor using a differential pressure manometer or equivalent instrument to Surveyor satisfaction.
iv) The negative pressure of at least –2.5 Pa (–0.01 inches of water column) inside the medical facility is to be verified by the ABS Surveyor using a differential pressure manometer or equivalent instrument to Surveyor satisfaction. The negative pressure differential is to be verified at each separate entrance to the medical facility.
Annual Surveys
For maintenance of the IDM-A notation, the ABS Surveyor is to verify/perform the following at each Annual Survey:
i) Fire, repair and damage reports since the previous Initial, Annual, or Special Periodical Survey, if any;
ii) Any structural or mechanical modifications to the asset in accommodation and work spaces referenced in Section 2 since the previous Initial, Annual, or Special Periodical Survey that have been submitted to and reviewed by ABS Engineering;
iii) An examination of accommodation and work spaces referenced in Section 2 as follows:
- An examination of isolation cabins and anterooms (at random), medical facilities, and designated office and sanitary spaces for shore personnel and visitors, including their interior surfaces
- An examination of storage spaces for infectious solid waste and for cleaning agents and disinfectants, including their interior surfaces
- An examination of the ventilation systems of above-mentioned spaces at random.
Explore more herebelow:
