Many issues regarding ship safety discussed during IMO Symposium
IMO held a Symposium on the Future of Ship Safety from 10 to 11 June, 2013 at IMO Headquarters, London. During its session many issues regarding maritime safety discussed , such as ship design, recent requlations challenges, safety culture for the human element and the need for change.
IMO Secretary General, Mr Koji Sekimizu in his closing remarks stated that this Symposium was a ” fascinating, stimulating and insightful event on future ship safety”
The purpose of the Symposium was not to provide specific input to the MSC but to share views on various elements which would compose a future safety system for further consideration in the coming years. The scope and breadth of the discussion has been extremely impressive and all deliberations, conclusions and recommendations will be much appreciated during MSC 92.
With regard to data collection Mr Sekimizu said that there is no doubt that more and better data, and the use of the latest methods to analyse them, are central to the development of future regulations based on risk. Alsothere is no doubt that a safety culture that goes beyond mere compliance is essential in the future. Ships will become more complex and, as they do, we must move away from safety being simply a series of box-ticking exercises. That approach is not good enough now, and the administrative burden must be reduced.
Regarding the human element, the need for self-regulation, and education and training, IMO Secretary General said that the serious challenge maritime training institutes are now facing is to keep up with new technology and this must be addresses.
Currently, the shipping industry is facing serious financial difficulties but they need to comply with regulations for marine environment protection. IMO’s Committees will take into account the cost of immediate compliance and ensure the smooth implementation of pending IMO conventions.
The subject of the Symposium has been something beyond overcoming the present challenges. The subject was Safety of ships in the future; and discussion on the future must cover all issues relating to ensuring competent seafarers free of stress and fatigue; support for seafarers must be continuously addressed at IMO.
Please click here to read IMO Secretary – General closing remarks at Symposium
Source: IMO
