Tag: CLIA

CLIA statement on hurricane Sandy

Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review Policy Exceeds Existing Regulatory Requirements Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the European Cruise Council (ECC) recently announced that the cruise industry has adopted an additional safety policy. This policy, which exceeds current international regulatory requirements, addresses issues related to the loading of lifeboats by crewmembers for training purposes. It is an outcome of the Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review, which was launched in January 2012.The Life Boat Loading for Training Purposes policy requires the launching and full loading of a lifeboat at least once every six months for crew training purposes for all oceangoing members of CLIA and ECC, effective immediately. During the training, the lifeboat is filled to capacity with crewmembers and maneuvered in the water to facilitate familiarization with lifeboat operations. It is mandatory that all crewmembers involved in operating or loading of lifeboats attend the drill. Smaller ships with less than 300 crewmembers will conduct similar training as appropriate."The cruise industry continues to work on a global level to improve the safety of passengers and crew, which is our number one priority," said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA."Since January of this year, and in keeping with our efforts to ...

Document was submitted to the IMO including major concerns over BWMS Concerns over the IMO's Ballast Water Convention (BWM) have been expressed by leading shipping organisations to the IMO ahead of this October's MEPC 64 meeting.A document was submitted to the IMO endorsed by Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Panama, BIMCO, INTERTANKO, CLIA, INTERCARGO, InterManager, IPTA, NACE and WSC.As has been raised at previous MEPC meetings, there are a number of issues that are affecting ratification and implementation of the BWM Convention that need to be addressed by the MEPC and the IMO member states to ensure proper and effective implementation of the convention.The major concerns of the authors are as follows:1) Need for revision of the Guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (G8) to improve transparency and ensure appropriate robustness of ballast water management systems (BWMS).2) Availability of BWMS and sufficient facilities to install BWMS.3) Survey and certification requirements for ships constructed prior to entry into force of the BWM Convention.4) sampling and analysis procedures for port State control purposes.In June 2012, there were 23 type approved BWMS on the market; 25 BWMS have been approved in total with two BWMS having been withdrawn from the market by ...

1.5 million seafarers make a valuable contribution to the shipping industry In honor of Day of the Seafarer, on June 25, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) highlighted the industry's long-standing support of its crewmembers, who help ensure the well-being of the general public and cruise passengers worldwide."The cruise industry today thanks and honors the 1.5 million seafarers around the world for their unrelenting commitment to maritime service," said CLIA President and CEO Christine Duffy. "They are the lifeblood of our industry, ensuring each day that families and cruise patrons worldwide enjoy a safe, reliable, and sustainable cruise. While we celebrate them today, we are working diligently as an industry to maintain the highest standards of safety and fair treatment for our crews, and to create best workplace cultures that reward outstanding performance."The cruise industry provides employment for seafarers from more than 150 countries, and more than 80 percent return for repeat employment. In addition to the cruise industry, seafarers play a vital role in the economy and sustainable development worldwide, enabling ships to carry more than 90 percent of world trade.Additionally, the charity funded by CLIA's member cruise lines, Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation (CICF), has made a $5,000 donation to ...

Industry-Wide Standards and Requirements and Safety Tips The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced the release of a Cruise Industry Safety Tool Kit for travel agents and their clients. First distributed at cruise3sixty, the industry's annual conference in April, the kit is available on CLIA's web site, www.cruising.org.The kit was designed to provide agents a turnkey package of materialswith safety information and advice to be used to educate and reassure prospective cruise clients. It highlights the industry's excellent record and commitment to safety, describes cruise ship safety policies and procedures as well as new global safety initiatives and suggests answers to questions clients may ask. It also offers safety tips for cruise passengers and several videos on cruise ship safety procedures featuring industry experts."Cruising is extremely safe and the safety of passengers and crew is our industry's number one priority," said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. "The global cruise industry is taking numerous steps to foster a safe and secure cruise environment for the millions of passengers and crew who sail on cruise ships every year. This kit is one important way to help agents address the questions or concerns their clients may have about safety at ...

MSC 90 focused extensive attention on passenger ship safety Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) today announced that the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee incorporated a number of recommendations from the ongoing Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review in its meetings in London, being held May 16 to 25. The committee focused extensive attention on passenger ship safety and considered a number of recommendations developed by the Review, launched on behalf of the global cruise industry in January, along with other safety recommendations submitted by IMO member governments."CLIA commends the IMO, its Secretary-General, the Maritime Safety Committee and the 170 IMO member States around the world for their ongoing commitment to working with the industry to improve the safety of passengers and crew, which is the number one priority of CLIA members," said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. "We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the IMO and a wide range of stakeholders to undertake further continuous consideration, development and implementation of measures to strengthen our industry's safety culture."At the meeting, the IMO put forth immediate actions to enhance passenger ship safety, with the Review the source of many of the items. The Review includes a ...

Passage Planning - Personnel Access To The Bridge - Lifejackets On behalf of the global cruise industry, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the European Cruise Council announced that the cruise industry has adopted three new safety policies which are to be implemented with immediate effect.The announcement was made by Chairman of the European Cruise Council (ECC) and Member of the CLIA Executive Committee, Manfredi Lefebvre.Speaking at a major European Commission-organized Passenger Ship Safety event in Brussels, he outlined how these policies have been agreed to by the industry and represent the third such announcement arising from the cruise industry's Operational Safety Review.These three new policies, which go beyond even the strictest of regulatory requirements, address issues related to passage planning, personnel access to the bridge and lifejackets. Each of these three policies will be reported to the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) for consideration at their next session in May."As highlighted by these wide-ranging policies, we continue to take proactive measures to improve the safety of passengers and crew across the globe," said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. "We look forward to working collaboratively to identify any additional operational issues that will achieve our longstanding goal ...

Guidelines to address concerns related to alleged serious crimes and persons missing at sea The United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed to a proposal put forward by the United Kingdom, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), and the Philippines to develop guidelines to address concerns related to alleged serious crimes and persons missing at sea. All twenty four delegations that spoke after the proposal had been presented expressed their appreciation and supported it without exception.Building upon an earlier proposal from CLIA, the United Kingdom led a coalition of government and industry stakeholders in support of the proposal.UK Shipping Minister, Mike Penning said:"Taking a cruise should be a safe and enjoyable experience. However we have been reminded in recent years that crime exists at sea as it does on land, and we should be certain that there are effective mechanisms in place to respond to this. I am grateful to those at the IMO, our partners CLIA and the Philippines for their help in making such valuable progress. I would now urge all other flag states to get behind this important proposal."CLIA President and CEO, Christine Duffy, said:"CLIA greatly appreciates the extensive leadership and commitment of Minister Penning, the United ...

Sekimizu called for a safety review of the latest generation of mega-cruiseships The newly elected International Maritime Organiation (IMO) secretary general Koji Sekimizu is planning a fresh initiative on passenger safety following the Costa Concordia tragedy.Sekimizu says that although under maritime international law, the incident could be handled entirely by the Italians under Italian law, he feels passengership safety should be tackled at a global level through the IMO.IMO secretary general, Koji Sekimizu. The latest edition of TradeWinds weekly newspaper reports that Sekimizu called for a safety review of the latest generation of mega-cruiseships at an International Maritime Industries Forum event in London."The Costa Concordia accident happened in Italy, it is an Italian ship with an Italian master sailing under the Italian flag. This could be handled under Italian law but among the passengers there were 70 other nationalities involved and the cruise business is an international activity."He said he expects to set up a new agenda for discussing passengership safety at the upcoming Maritime Safety Council (MSC) meeting scheduled for May.He added that at the MSC meeting member states may decide to tackle the safety of large passengerships."The new agenda may trigger a safety evaluation of large passenger vessels ...