Tag: SOLAS

Changes to SOLAS Chapter V Changes to SOLAS Chapter V, regulation 23, have introduced revised requirements for pilot transfer arrangements. The changes are mostly related to new installations of pilot transfer equipment and will mainly affect newbuild projects.However, the revised SOLAS requirements also include two changes which will have a significant effect on certain existing ships; one is related to outward-opening shipside doors and the other is related to the use of mechanical pilot hoists.Shipside doors refers to shell openings used for pilot transfer, not to bulwark or guardrail gateways.Mechanical pilot hoists are equipment designed to operate as a moving ladder to lift and lower one person on the side of the ship, or as a platform to lift and lower one or more persons on the side of the ship. Mechanical pilot hoists should not be confused with pilot ladder winch reels, which are sometimes used to retrieve and store unmanned pilot ladders.How will the revised requirements apply?The amended SOLAS regulation V/23 mainly applies to SOLAS 'convention-size' vessels but may also apply to 'non-convention' vessels provided with pilot transfer arrangements. The amendments will apply to new equipment and arrangements for pilot transfer which are installed on or afterJuly 1, ...

Ladders and portable gangways on ships must comply with SOLAS regulation Accommodation ladders and portable gangways on ships must comply with SOLAS regulation II-1/3-9 and the construction, installation, maintenance and testing requirements as detailed in MSC.1/Circ.1331 (applicable to ships built after 01 Jan 2010), and, additionally, with any applicable local regulations.It is good practice to land the 'foot' of the accommodation ladder on the shore so that the fall wire is not subject to continuous stress. However, at berths fitted with large fenders, there may be a wide gap between the hull and the quay, and slewing the accommodation ladder for landing on the wharf will require shore assistance, can impose high loads on the system and also increase the risk of an accident.For such situations, many vessels are equipped with an approved 'extension gangway' that is designed be secured athwartships to the bottom platform of the accommodation ladder, providing a safe 'bridge' to the shore. When berthed in ports with high tidal range, or when obstructions on the quay could foul the ladder, it may be more prudent to leave it suspended so that the crew can tend it continuously. In most designs, the gangway fall wire leads from ...

ClassNK has awarded type approval for the first alternative coating system ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) says it has awarded type approval under PSPC (Performance Standard for Protective Coatings) to the world's first alternative coating system for ballast tanks. The approval, the first of its type to be issued by any classification society, has been given to a single-coating system manufactured by Nippon Paint Marine Coatings Co., Ltd.Under PSPC, conventional epoxy coating systems are required to comprise two coatings. The standard does, though, have a provision that allows for alternative systems, such as the one approved by ClassNK, with only a single coating. A key function of the system developed by Nippon Paint Marine Coatings is the "SI (Self-Indicating)" feature whereby the color of the coating changes depending on its thickness. The application of this coating system to ships will begin upon confirmation from relevant administrations by ClassNK.The PSPC standard provides technical requirements for protective coatings in dedicated seawater ballast tanks of all type of ships of not less than 500 gross tonnage and double-side skin spaces arranged in bulk carriers of 150 m in length and upwards for which the building contract is placed, the keels of which are laid ...

MPA Singapore issues circular 21/2011 The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) issued a circular reminding Singapore shipowners that Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention)(Amendment) Regulations, 2011 come into effect on 1 January 2012.These regulations put into effect recent changes to the SOLAS Convention, primarily addressing goal-based standards for new ship construction; corrosion protection of cargo oil tanks of crude oil tankers; and gas measurement and detection.For more information, click here.Source: MPA Singapore

Class NK TEC - 0885 The Bahamian Government has notified ClassNK of special requirements for emergency escape breathing device(EEBD) on board the Bahamas flagged vessels as follows.1. SOLAS Chapter II-2 specifies the carriage requirement for EEBD in accommodation spaces as follows:(1) Cargo ships : Not less than two;(2) Passenger ships : Not less than two in each main vertical zone(3) Passenger ships carrying more than 36 passengers : In addition to the number specified in (2) above, not less than 2 in each main vertical zone.2. The number and location of EEBD to be provided in the machinery spaces is available in IMO Circular MSC/Circ.1081.3. All ships shall carry spare EEBDs that shall be located in a control station.The number of spares carried on board shall be as follows:(1) Cargo ships : 1 ;(2) Passenger ships : 2.4. Offshore units certified under the MODU Code, or modified MODU Code, or other alternative IMO Code shall be provided with EEBDs as if they were SOLAS certificated.5. In order to satisfy the SOLAS requirements for on-board training in the use of EEBDs, the vessel shall have either:(1) at least one separate EEBD clearly marked as designated for training, or(2) the onboard facility ...

IAPH joins with WSC, ICS and BIMCO The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has joined with the World Shipping Council (WSC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and BIMCO in the effort to encourage the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to amend the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to require, as a condition for stowing a loaded container on board a ship, that the ship and the port facility have a verified actual weight of the container. All four organizations have consultative status at the IMO.The announcement comes as the IMO's Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) subcommittee, which is responsible for improving the safety of container stowage and ships operations, continues its efforts to construct a SOLAS requirement that loaded export containers have a verified weight prior to vessel loading. As instructed by the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), DSC will consider such a requirement at its next session in September 2012 (DSC 17)."Weighing containers to confirm their actual weight is the right operational and safety practice. There is substantial experience with such a requirement in the United States demonstrating that this is feasible on a technological and commercial basis. It is time to make ...

Fatal accidents have occurred as a result of lifeboat on-load release mechanisms Ireland adopts SOLAS amendments to replace non-compliant lifeboat on-load release mechanisms and has issued a Marine Notice no 54 of 2011.This is a useful reminder of the numerous fatal accidents that have occurred as a result of lifeboat on-load release mechanisms and that the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), at its eighty-ninth session held May 2011, adopted, by resolution MSC.317(89), the new SOLAS regulation III/1.5 and, by resolution MSC.320(89), related amendments to chapter IV of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code, both of which are expected to enter into force on 1st January 2013The SOLAS amendment requires lifeboat on-load release mechanisms, not complying with the new LSA Code requirements, to be replaced no later than the first scheduled dry-docking of the ship after 1st July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1st July 2019.The amendment is intended to establish new, stricter, safety standards for lifeboat release and retrieval systems, aimed at preventing accidents during lifeboat launching, and will require the assessment and possible replacement of a large number of lifeboat release hooks.The MSC also approved associated "Guidelines for Evaluation and Replacement ...

IMO Meet in London for Biennial Assembly Today (21st November 2011) the 27th Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will meet in London in a session scheduled to last until the 30th November. All 170 Member States and three Associate Members are entitled to attend the Assembly, which is IMO's highest governing body.The intergovernmental organizations with which agreements of co-operation have been concluded and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO are also invited to attend. Two of the main subjects under discussion will be the recent IMO-commissioned study into the impact of mandatory energy efficiency measures for international shipping and the current marine migraine of piracy.The Assembly will review the work carried out by the Organization during the biennium 2010‑2011, through the Council, the five IMO Committees and the Secretariat at an event which normally meets once every two years in regular session. It is responsible for approving the work programme, voting the budget and determining the financial arrangements of the Organization. It also elects the Organization's 40-Member Council.The review will focus on recent highlights over the past two years such as the improvements to watch keeping at sea (the STCW Convention) and the adoption, in April 2010, ...

rRquirements for testing the correct data exchange MSC 88 adopted amendments to SOLAS regulation V/18 regarding the annual testing of the automatic identification system (AIS) in 2010. As a result, a new regulation (SOLAS V/18.9) was introduced by MSC 308 (88) and adopted on 3 December 2010.SOLAS Chapter V regulation 18.9 "The automatic identification system (AIS) shall be subjected to an annual test. The test shall be conducted by an approved surveyor or an approved testing or servicing facility. The test shall verify the correct programming of the ship static information, correct data exchange with connected sensors as well as verifying the radio performance by radio frequency measurement and on-air test using, e.g., a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS). A copy of the test report shall be retained on board the ship."The date on which the annual testing of AIS enters into force is 1 July 2012, and the tests may be carried out in connection with the ship's annual safety radio (CRC) or safety equipment (CEC) survey.Approval of AIS service suppliers The new regulation implies special requirements for surveyors since testing the correct data exchange with connected sensors and on-air radio tests requires both special AIS test equipment and specific ...

Amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2 Amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2 will enter into force on January 1, 2012 and introduce new requirements for portable oxygen measuring instruments, as follows:IMO Resolution MSC.291(87) introduces a requirement for all 'tankers' to be equipped with at least one portable instrument for measuring oxygen, together with a sufficient set of spares and suitable means for the calibrationof such instruments.'Tanker' in this instance means any ship carrying bulk liquid cargoes of a flammable nature. SOLAS already contains requirements for carriage of portable oxygen meters but this new amendment adds therequirement for spares and calibration equipment. A second portable instrument for measuring oxygen is generally regarded as meeting the requirement for a sufficient set of spares.What should owners and operators do now?Owners and operators of new and existing tankers should ensure they have portable oxygen meter(s), spares and means of calibration in place by January 1, 2012.Surveyors have been instructed to confirm this equipment is in place at the first attendance on board after thisdate.Source: Lloyd's Register