Tag: regulatory update

On the occasion of USCG participation at Posidonia this month, Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy, shares his view on at the role of the regulator in the maritime industry's environmental footprint, mostly in the context of ballast water management regulations.

In an interview with SAFETY4SEA, Mr. Andreas Nicolaou, Managing Director at Dromon Bureau of Shipping, argued that the road to a robust safety culture in the maritime industry is not to add new standards, but to ensure the effective implementation of the existing standards.

The 42nd session of IMO's Facilitation Committee took place from 5 to 8 June, focusing on work to the facilitation of international maritime traffic. Data standardisation, single window system, stowaways, maritime corruption were, inter alia, key items on this year's agenda.

IMO’s FAL Committee approved a revised structure for its Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business, including a new standard IMO reference data set, which will be used as basis for automated and digital systems for exchange of information when ships arrive at and depart from ports.

In an increasingly complex and fast changing market, the role of the classification society is more relevant than ever, said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen at a press conference ahead of Posidonia in Athens. Class enables innovation in shipbuilding, guides operators through a demanding regulatory landscape, and helps the industry tackle cyber-crime, he underlined.

Australia's Department of Agriculture will conduct a criminal investigation for the company implicated in the death of 2,400 sheep from heat stress onboard the livestock carrier 'Awassi Express' in August 2017. Earlier, Australia announced that it will toughen its welfare standards on livestock carriers.

The 99th session of IMO's Maritime Safety Committee concluded on 25 May marking new steps and reviewing older developments towards a safer shipping industry. Autonomous vessels, piracy and armed robbery against ships, the Arctic shipping safety, as well as the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, were key topics on the agenda.

According to a circular issued by the The Honduras Directorate of Merchant Marine, ships calling at Puerto Cortes must present, with 24 hours in advance, an Insurance Certificate of Civil Liability against marine pollution events, and a Certificate of Coverage for Response to Incidents of marine pollution issued by a company authorized for this purpose by the maritime authority, to the local office of the General Directorate.

Ships are increasingly using systems that rely on digitization, integration, and automation. As a result, security of data and other sensitive information has become a major concern of maritime. Certainly, there are many key issues with respect to cyber risk management in the maritime.

The 99th session of IMO's Maritime Safety Committee concluded on 25 May, endorsing a framework for a regulatory scoping exercise, as work in progress, including preliminary definitions of autonomous ships and degrees of autonomy, as well as a methodology for conducting the exercise and a plan of work.