Tag: SOLAS

Bulletin addresses the intentional securing of fixed water-based fire fighting systems onboard USCG has issued Marine Safety Information Bulletin No 41. to address the international securing of fixed water- based fire fighting systems onboard certain vessels.Machinery spaces onboard vessels are particularly high risk areas for fires. Locations such as main and auxiliary engine tops, fuel oil purifiers, burners and incinerator burners are major areas of concern. Fires in these areas can spread very quiclky, causing serious damage placing vessels, their crews and the ports they visit at risk. To protect against this fire risk, Category A machinery spaces containing oil-fired boilers or oil fuel units must be fitted with a fixed fire-extinguishing sustem (SOLAS II-2/10.5.1.1). In addition, Category A machinery spaces above 500m3 in volume must have an approved type of fixed water-based or equivalent local application fire-extinguishing system (SOLAS II-2/10.5.6.1). This fixed water-based local application fire-fightinh system is intended to protect the crew and affected machinery quiclky, and without the necessity of engine shutdown, personnel evacuation, or sealing the space.Where the Category A machinery space protected by the local application fire-extinguishing system is periodically unattended, the system must be provided with both automatic and manual release capability.During recent port ...

Prohibition of the blending of bulk liquid cargoes and production processes during sea voyages

ClassNK has issued Technical Information TEC-0977 regarding the Maintenance, Testing and Inspection of Fire Fighting Systems and appliances on board the Singapore flag ships as follows:

ClassNK TEC-0975 re application date, type-approval and installation The amendment of the SOLAS, Chapter V/19 regarding the carriage requirements for Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System (BNWAS) was adopted as IMO Resolution MSC.350(92) at the 92nd session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC92) held in June 2013and carriage requirements for the ships constructed before 1 July 2002 were added.ClassNK has issued Technical Information TEC-0975 regardingCarriage requirements for BNWAS (excluding Japanese-flagged ships) as follows Applicable shipsThese new requirements shall apply to the following types of ships:(1) All cargo ships of 150GT and upwards; and(2) Passenger ships irrespective of size. Application due dateThe due dates for ships to be fitted with a BNWAS are as follows:(1) Ships constructed on or after 1 July 2011, not later than the initial Safety Equipment Survey(SE survey);(2) Passenger ships constructed before 1 July 2002, not later than the first survey after 1 January2016;(3) Cargo ships of 3,000 GT and upwards constructed before 1 July 2002, not later than the firstSE survey after 1 January 2016;(4) Cargo ships of 500 GT and upwards constructed before 1 July 2002, not later than the firstSE survey after 1 January 2017;(5) Cargo ships of 150 GT and upwards constructed before ...

Lloyds Register issued Statutory Alert on the new SOLAS regulation III/17-1 requirements which will come into force on July 1st, 2014.

Key statistics for Port State Control in the US The United States Coast Guard (USCG) released its final Port State Control (PSC) report for the year 2012.The Annual Report gives details about the PSC activities within the USA during last year and key statistics related toenforcement of the regulations under the InternationalConvention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), theInternational Convention for the Prevention of Pollution fromShips (MARPOL), and the International Ship & Port FacilitySecurity (ISPS) Code.The USCG Annual Report also provides several detailedstatistics showing detailed performance, e. g. for flags, ROs or different types of ships. With regard to the safety performance of foreign vesselsduring 2012, there are mixed results. There was a uptick in thenumber of safety detentions despite the fact that fewer examinations were conducted6%. As a result, the associated annualdetention ratio rose.USCG Rear Admiral Joseph A. Servidio says"When coupled with the 3% decrease invessel arrivals, I find this result worrisome. Overall, we haveseen the safety-related detention ratio decrease approximately 80% since the calculation of ourfirst detention ratio in 1995. I am concerned that the 2012 detention ratio may be a leadingindicator of the degradation of vessel systems, a result of deferred preventative maintenance andthe financial ...

EMSA explains Long Range Identification and Tracking The long range identification and tracking (LRIT) system for ships aims to enhance security for government authorities. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has produced a leaflet in order to understand LRIT and its potential benefits for maritime safety, marine environment protection, as well as search and rescue operations.Thelong-range identification and tracking(LRIT) of ships was established as an international system on 19 May 2006 by theInternational Maritime Organization (IMO) as resolution MSC.202(81).This resolution amends chapter V of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), regulation 19-1 and binds all governments which have contracted to the IMO. The LRIT regulation will apply to the following ship types engaged on international voyages:All passenger ships including high-speed craft,Cargo ships, including high-speed craft of 300 gross tonnage and above, andMobile offshore drilling units.(Source: Wikipedia)International LRIT SystemLRIT provides ship identity and current location information in sufficient time for a government to evaluate the security risk posed by a ship off its coast and to respond to reduce the risk if necessary.An active and accurate long range identification and tracking system also has potential benefits in terms of maritime safety, marine environment protection, and maritime ...

MPA Singapore Circular 19 of 2013 Maintenance, testing and inspection of fire protection systems and firefighting systems and appliances

ITF: The struggle for container weights safety continues

IMO's DSC Sub-Committee 18th Session At last week's meeting in the IMO, it was decided that now the weight of containers is to be verified before it is possible to carry them by sea. This was proposed in order to prevent ship accidents and prevent the loss of containers into the sea.The IMO Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) recommends new international (SOLAS) regulations stipulating that containers must not be carried by sea until their weight has been verified and the shipper has informed the ship about the correct weight.The background of this initiative was repeated collapses of container stacks, containers lost over board and a number of ship accidents where it subsequently became clear that there were great differences between the reported and the actual weight of the containers on board,according to Danish Maritime Authority (DMA). Since container ships become larger and larger, the ability to calculate the overall weight of the cargo is of great importance to the stability of the ships and, consequently, also to safety.It is expected that the proposed new SOLAS regulations will be approved by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in 2014.It is possible to establish the correct weight in ...