MSC 87
Piracy
At the 87th session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, many states and organisations expressed deep concern about the continued problem of piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia.
Against this background, it was discussed what could be done to further develop new or existing tools for combating this problem. The discussions were primarily centred on the drafting of guidelines focusing on the seafarers in case of acts of piracy and guidelines for use when gathering investigative evidence on ships that had been captured.
The industry and the seafarer organisations had already come far drawing up guidelines for shipping companies and masters on what to do to assist the seafarers and their families in case of acts of piracy. These guidelines contain recommendations on how to behave before, during and after acts of piracy. Consequently, it was expected that the next session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 88) later in 2010 would adopt final guidelines. This should also be seen in the light of the fact that 2010 has been designated Year of the Seafarer.
Furthermore, it was discussed whether it would be feasible to develop practical guidelines for use in investigations and evidence gathering in order for the evidence to be used in legal proceedings against pirates later. The member states and the organisations were urged to submit specific proposals in order to make it easier to assess the need for guidelines and how to draft them at the next session. In addition, the Committee was aware that other UN bodies were carrying out work that could, possibly, supplement the work performed within the IMO.
New construction standard for ships (Goal-Based construction Standard – GBS)
The working group on new construction standards for ships continued its work phrasing the final draft amendments to the SOLAS Convention, which were intended to make effective the coming mandatory construction standard.
The background for launching the work on GBS is to ensure that the IMO got control with the safety level at an overall level, at first as regards the classification societies’ rules on the construction of tankers and bulk carriers.
The Committee approved the working group’s draft construction standard and, on this basis, adopted new regulations according to which tankers and bulk carriers are to be approved. The construction standard consists of two levels: one aimed at how to phrase overall regulations under GBS; and another one aimed at specific structural rules for ships.
It was agreed that the rules of the classification societies should be submitted to the IMO no later than at the end of 2013 with a view to verifying whether they meet the new standards, and subsequently the regulations should enter into force for new bulk carriers and tankers from 1 July 2016.
Examination of risk analyses for ships (Formal Safety Assessment – FSA)
Through its participation in the EU project SAFEDOR, Denmark had submitted a number of FSAs for the Maritime Safety Committee. The six analyses were related to LNG tankers, container ships, oil tankers, ro-ro carriers and passenger ships as well as the carriage of dangerous goods on board open-top container ships.
At this session, the Committee also decided to establish an expert group to assess whether the FSAs submitted were in accordance with the Committee’s own standard (FSA Guideline). Denmark took part in the expert group together with 25 other independent experts in this field.
The expert group finalised its assessment of the five analyses, while the FSA for oil tankers awaits the finalisation of a criterion to be used for an economic evaluation of risk-reducing measures in connection with oil spillages.
The Committee decided that its respective sub-committees can make use of the material and the individual recommendations given in the FSAs in connection with coming regulations. The Danish side considered it an important step towards achieving a more risk-based approach to the development of regulations in the IMO.
Until the next session of the Committee, the expert group will try to identify any improving measures and amendments to the FSA Guideline, based on the experience gained from the group’s work.
LRIT (Long-Range Identification and Tracking of ships)
At the session, a number of administrative conditions regarding the use of LRIT were discussed. Among other things, a permanent solution was to be found on the establishment of the so-called International Data Exchange (IDE), which is a central server for the distribution of positional information from ships. The central server had been located temporarily in the USA. The EU member states had proposed to establish the server with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon, Portugal. At the session, there was support for locating the IDE with EMSA.
Furthermore, MSC decided to establish a special facility in the LRIT system as part of the fight against pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the western part of the Indian Ocean. The facility was to transmit positional data from all ships in the area to the naval forces that had been inserted to combat piracy. In this way, it would be possible for the naval fleets to get an improved overview of the shipping that they are intended to protect. It was decided to establish the facility with the IMO Secretariat since it was voluntary whether each individual flag State wanted to take part in this scheme.
Corrosion protection of cargo tanks in crude oil tankers
The Committee adopted amendments to the SOLAS Convention regarding corrosion protection of cargo tanks in crude oil tankers. The industry suggested that the regulations should not enter into force until on 1 January 2014 in consideration of the testing of the necessary paint standards, but following a prolonged debate the Committee decided that the regulations should enter into force on 1 January 2013, which would still be one year later than if the normal decision procedure had been followed. In the opinion of the Committee, this would consider the preparatory work to be performed by the industry to the extent necessary.
Release mechanism for lifeboats
At this session, new requirements for lifeboat release mechanisms and hooks had been drawn up since there had been some serious accidents with inadvertent release of the hook before the lifeboat had been lowered into the water. However, the industry and several member states criticized the test standards to be used to decide whether the hooks and release mechanisms should be replaced. Consequently, it was decided that the DE Sub-Committee should go through the test standards in consideration of the issues debated at the meeting. It was decided that this work should be carried out at a special meeting in a working group in connection with the next session of the Sub-Committee. Against this background, the Committee would at its next session (MSC 88) decide whether the new requirements should be adopted.
Crew safety precautions when working in enclosed spaces
Several sub-committees had discussed the training and education of the crew when working in enclosed spaces. At the session, it was decided whether there was a need to draw up additional guidelines for work in enclosed spaces because a number of countries had the view that the guidelines and training requirements in force were insufficient. The conclusion was that the issue was to be finalised by the sub-committees before taking a final decision. At this session, it was decided, upon the initiative of Denmark, to let a new requirement for portable gas metres and oxygen flowmetres on board apply to all ships irrespective of the year of built; originally, it was the intention that it should apply only to new ships. In addition, it was agreed to consider whether a new regulation on the use of regular lifeboat drills should also cover drills related to enclosed spaces.
Guidelines for the assessment of the safe return to port of passenger ships
The Committee approved guidelines for use when assessing requirements for the safe return to port of passenger ships after an accident on board. Several member states drew attention to a need to introduce requirements for the ship’s main machinery in order to maintain the safe operation of a ship after an accident.
Other issues
In addition, the Committee adopted new functional requirements for smoke detection and gas detection systems, and as regards the test requirements for lifeboats, the weight per passenger was increased from 75 kg to 82.5 kg. Furthermore, the Committee adopted minor amendments to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, the Life-Saving Appliances (LSA) Code and the Fire Safety Systems (FSS) Code.
IACS drew the Committee’s attention to an uncertainty concerning the use of a new regulation 41-6 of chapter II-1 of the SOLAS Convention, because it was not stipulated in this regulation whether the provision was to apply only to new passenger ships. Consequently, the regulation was covered by the general provision that the chapter regulations apply to passenger ships built on or after 1 January 2009. However, it was the intention that the new regulation should apply to passenger ships built on or after 1 July 2010. Consequently, the Committee decided to issue a Circular stating that the new regulation should apply to ships built on or after 1 July 2010.
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