Brief update
The International Maritime Organizations Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) held its 87th session from 12th to 21st May 2010. Amongst the many issues discussed during the week and a half long meeting the following important matters were on the list of 26 agenda items on the table for this session:
Goal-based new ship construction standards (GBS)
The GBS consist of the following 5 tiers namely:
I.Goals
II.Functional requirements
III.Verification of compliance
IV.IMO requirements, national requirements and classification rules
V.Industry standards and practices
IMOs involvement in the GBS is currently limited to the above mentioned Tiers I III. The work on Tier I and II has been completed. Currently, IMO is looking at Tier III in order to balance the extensive cost of detailed verification against added benefit to safety.
If as envisaged the primary discussions on this topic during MSC 87 had been related to the Ship Construction File (SCF) and the outcome of the Committees deliberations, including an joint industry submission(cosponsored by BIMCO) on the subject, this would have lead to the establishment of a joint industry SCF working group where BIMCO would be represented.
Ship design and equipment (DE)
The Committees deliberations included debates related to coating performance standards and a BIMCO cosponsored industry submission to MSC 87 commenting on the draft Guidelines developed by the Design and Equipment (DE) Sub-Committee regarding the assessment of lifeboat hook release mechanisms.
BIMCO cosponsored a paper expressing concern about limiting the design review assessment related to wear rates, as some other factors having contributed to release mechanism failures then might not be sufficiently considered. The concern led IMO to convene an intersessional working group meeting in the autumn of 2010. The meeting will finalize an MSC circular on Guidelines for evaluation and replacement of lifeboat on-load release mechanisms referred to in SOLAS regulation III/1.5. BIMCO will participate in this work.
Safety of Navigation (NAV)
The MSC 87 considered a number of action points emanating from the latest session of the NAV Subcommittee, including adoption of various routine schemes, issues related to the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) for ships transiting the Gulf of Aden, Guidelines for bridge equipment and systems, development of an e-navigation strategy implementation, recommendation on pilot transfer arrangements including Guidelines for construction, installation, maintenance and inspection/survey of means of embarkation and disembarkation and many others.
Training and Watchkeeping (STW)
The Committee discussed the revision of the STCW Convention which will affect future training and certification of seafarers. The revision is scheduled to be agreed at the forthcoming STCW Conference in June 2010.
All training institutes, shipowners, manning agents and ship managers are urged to not only note but also ensure that they are sufficiently acquainted with the revision of the STCW Convention.
The question related to whether additional training is necessary for entry into enclosed spaces was debated at length under a number of agenda items and the decision has been deferred to a later stage when all the relevant subcommittees have commented on the eventual need for additional training related to entry into enclosed spaces.
Stability and Load Lines on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF)
The Committee discussed the development of the design and operational guidelines for verification of damage stability for tankers and bulk carriers and, in particular, taking into account the concerns expressed regarding the planned port State control concentrated inspection campaign and unified interpretations of the 1966 LL Convention and the 1988 LL Protocol.
General cargo ship safety
The Committee considered the following:
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Update on the IACS FSA study
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Information and relevant proposals regarding access to casualty databases
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Submissions made by Member Governments and international organizations under this agenda item, and action as appropriate, including the need for inclusion of Non IACS ships into the General Cargo Ship Formal Safety study
The Committee welcomed and appreciated the work carried out on the general cargo Formal Safety Assessment study and agreed to include the non IACS ships in the future work on this important matter.
Consideration and adoption of amendments to mandatory instruments
The following amendments to mandatory instruments were among others considered at the MSC 87:
Amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention;
Amendments to the International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code);
Amendments to the International Life-Saving Appliances Code (LSA Code);
Amendments to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code;
Standards to be mandatory under the 1974 SOLAS Convention;
Amendments to non-mandatory instruments;
Proposed consequential amendments to the 1988 SOLAS Protocol.
The above amendments will be conveyed to members as soon as possible when the relevant IMO text and circulars are received in the BIMCO Secretariat.
Implementation of instruments and related matters
The Committee further considered the proposal with regard to matters relating to the need for an updated list of codes, recommendations, guidelines and other safety and security-related instruments. Consideration was taken of procedural aspects and associated resource implications; so that the list can be revised taking into account the outcome of the consideration of relevant extracts by all the sub-committees and be updated, whilst making the list available to IMO Members by means of a circular issued on an annual basis.
All the decisions and actions agreed by MSC 87 related to the above and other relevant agenda items will be reported in more depth next week when the draft IMO report of MSCs 87th session has been assessed by the BIMCO Marine Department.
Source:bimco