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Busy agenda for IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee

MSC meets at the Organization's London Headquarters for its 91st session from 26 to 30 November 2012 IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meets at the Organization's London Headquarters for its 91st session from 26 to 30 November 2012.The busy agenda includes discussions on passenger ship safety; the adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); and consideration of matters related to piracy and armed robbery against ships and other items submitted by the IMO Sub-Committees.Passenger ship safetyThe MSC is expected to establish a working group on passenger ship safety to consider relevant issues, including the action plan drawn up at the last session following the Costa Concordia incident in January. The MSC agreed at its last session on a number of operational measures to be implemented immediately, on a voluntary basis, prior to the adoption of any measures following the analysis of the official marine investigation report into the loss of the Costa Concordia.The MSC is also expected to receive an update from the Government of Italy on the status of the Costa Concordia casualty investigation.IMO is represented, as an observer, on the body overseeing the casualty investigation.Adoption of SOLAS amendments The MSC ...

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IMO Council endorses evolutionary Sub-Committee restructuring

Council, 109th session, 5-9 November 2012 The IMO Council, meeting for its 109th session in London has endorsed, in principle, a restructuring of IMO'sSub-Committees, in order to better address the technical and operational issues covered by IMO regulations, as part of a review and reform process initiated by Secretary-General Mr. Koji Sekimizu aimed at ensuring the Organization meets current challenges as a forward-looking, efficient and cost-conscious Organization.IMO's main technical Committees, the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) were invited to consider the proposals, which could see the number of Sub-Committees reduced from nine to seven, potentially saving four meeting weeks per biennium.Under the proposals:The Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) would be renamed the Sub-Committee on the Environment, and would be tasked with dealing exclusively with environment-related matters, to allow the MEPC to delegate preliminary technical/scientific discussions to a sub-committee;The Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) would be renamed as the Sub-Committee on Cargoes (to include both wet and dry cargoes), in order to address all cargo issues in one sub-committee;The Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications, Search and Rescue (COMSAR) and the Sub-Committee on Navigation (NAV) would be amalgamated, into a combined single ...

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IMO Council met for its 109th Session

Promoting 'greener'meetings The IMO Council, the Governing Body of the Organisation, met for its 109th Session from Monday 5 through Friday 9 November 2012, under the Chairmanship of Mr J Lantz (USA); his Vice-Chairman, Mr D Ntuli (South Africa) was also present.In his opening remarks, the IMO Secretary General spoke of promoting 'paper-smart' meetings (which equate to 'greener' meetings) and that this week's session would be conducted in a manner to help determine whether such an approach could be adapted to all IMO meetings.Thus, apart from the final working paper recording decisions taken during the C109 session, all other supporting documents were referred to on the IMO website.Following is a very short summary of salient points that may be of interest to Intermanager members :STRATEGY, PLANNING AND REFORMThe Council took note of the status of planned outputs of the Assembly, Council and Secretariat for the 2012-2013 Biennium. It also welcomed the Secretary-General's study on proposals for review and reform of the (IMO) Organisation noting that there are financial implications for which a number of budget growth scenarios had been submitted to Council. This was done in a transparent manner, projecting the implications for both Member States and the Secretariat. After ...

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Action Plan adopted to address operational safety of domestic ferries in the Pacific region

The Pacific Forum , organized by IMO An Action Plan to address key concerns surrounding the safety of domestic ferries in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) has been adopted by a forum on the subject, organized by IMO and held in Suva, Fiji, from 30 October to 2 November 2012.Recent losses of domestic ferries worldwide, including the sinking of the Rabaul Queen in Papua New Guinea in February 2012, have increased awareness of the need to consider a more holistic approach to domestic ferry safety. The Pacific Forum provided an opportunity for PICTs, development partners and key organizations and the maritime industry as a whole, to collaborate in discussion. The intention now is to develop regional support to address specific national solutions, thus ensuring that domestic ferry safety policies, procedures and activities will be effective, sustainable and relevant to local situations.The Pacific Forum focused on a number of broad issues related to domestic ferry operation including safety programmes, vessel-specific concerns, legislative, regulatory and compliance matters, seafarer training and certification, operational issues, search and rescue and safety awareness activities.Current and emerging domestic ferry safety issues were discussed at the Forum, as well as concerns and trends from international, regional ...

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Parties to international dumping treaties express concern re reported iron fertilization incident

34th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties Parties to the international treaties which regulate the dumping of wastes and other matter at sea have issued a statement of concern regarding the deliberate ocean fertilization activity that was recently reported to have been carried out in July of 2012 in waters off the west coast of Canada1. The Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (London Convention) and to the 1996 Protocol thereto (London Protocol), meeting in London from 29 October to 2 November 2012, expressed "grave concern" regarding this activity, reportedly conducted by the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, and which involved the deliberate introduction into surface waters of 100 metric tonnes of iron sulfate.The statement refers to an agreement made in 2008 that ocean fertilization activities, other than legitimate scientific research, should not be allowed. It goes on to point out that legitimate scientific research is defined as those proposals that have been assessed and found acceptable under the 2010 "Assessment Framework for Scientific Research Involving Ocean Fertilization." This, it says, should be used to determine, with utmost caution, whether a proposed ocean fertilization activity constitutes legitimate scientific research ...

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