CCC 2
05/10/15 14:46 Filed in: IMO CCC
The second meeting of Carriage of Cargoes and Containers Sub-Committee (CCC 2) met from 14 to 18 September under the able chairmanship of Mr. H. Xie (China) and Vice Chairman Mr. P. Van Lancker (Belgium).
Our delegation consisted of:
Paul Owen, Acting Secretary General
Alan Graveson, Nautilus International UK
Morten Kveim, Norwegian Maritime Officers’ Association
David Appleton, Nautilus International UK.
WG 1 - considered the safe carriage of Bauxite in bulk. This was of major concern to IFSMA, considering the potential for liquefaction of this cargo when the transportable moisture limit is exceeded and ship losses, in particular the recent loss of the ‘Bulk Jupiter’ highlighted by a report made to the Sub-Committee by its flag state the Bahamas. The following intervention was made:
“IFSMA would like to thank those who have submitted papers on this topic.
Referring to paper J10, although welcoming a warning circular, we do not believe that this circular goes far enough to protect the lives of seafarers.
The only acceptable short term solution to prevent more seafarers from unnecessarily losing their lives in the interim period whilst research is carried out is to reclassify bauxite as a group A cargo as suggested by the Bahamas in paper 2/5/16 or, at the very least implement the measures in the second part of the proposal.
The long term solution is to build ships with a sufficient safety margin so that the safety of seafarers is not determined by highly subjective cargo analysis.”
The result is that the working group will draft a circular taking into account the Bahamas and Intercargo submissions using paper J10 as a basis. The aim is raising awareness and developing interim measures. Judging by the level of support for the Bahamas paper in plenary, one would hope that most of their suggestions will be taken into account. “
A correspondence group will be formed with the aim of developing a new schedule for bauxite in time for CCC3.
WG 2 – considered Container Safety, its tasks included:
With regard to agenda item 7:
Finalise the draft amendments to CSC.1/Circ.138/Rev.1 and CSC.1/Circ.143, based on annex 1 to document CCC 2/7;
Consider the best way forward with regard to how Administrations should convey information on their ACEPs to the Organization and advise the Sub-Committee accordingly
Finalise the draft CSC circular on Instructions for use and information concerning the Global ACEP Database, based on annex 2 to document CCC 2/7; taking into account comments made in plenary on maintenance, operation and auditing,
Further consider documents CCC 2/7/1, CCC 2/7/2 and CCC 2/7/3 and advise the Sub-committee on how to proceed.
With regard to agenda item 8:
Finalise the draft due diligence checklist in identifying providers of CTU-related services (CCC 2/8 annex 2) and the associated MSC circular incorporating the Table of organizations within the transport supply chain involved in the process of packing CTUs (CCC 2/8 annex 1), and
Submit a written report by Thursday, 17 September 2015.
The amendments to circulars are regulating the relationship between administrations and IMO, and were limited to encouraging administrations to use the global ACEP database operated by BIC. Administrations have an obligation to publish their data, and the input is limited to so-called “Approved Competent Authority”. That will normally not be a shipping company; it will be a classification society, container owner or an administration.
In general, the suggestions from the WG regarding agenda item 7 will not lead to added administrative burdens for seafarers.
Documents CCC 2/7/1, CCC 2/7/2 did not receive support in the WG as the issues raised were considered to be outside the scope of the CSC convention. CCC 2/7/3 regarding labelling damaged containers was not supported as the issue is already covered by CSC.1/Circ.139.
A draft MSC circular was developed based on CCC 2/8. The goal is to obtain a culture change among the parties involved in the transportation of CTUs, especially the ones involved in packing. The main base documents are MSC.1/Circ.1497 and MSC.1/Circ.1498. Whether the circular will have an effect or not is unclear, but the potential effect is positive. It will not involve any additional administrative burdens for seafarers.
WG 3 – On carriage of Bauxite, covered elsewhere.
Drafting Group – considered draft amendments prepared by the E&T group on ‘Guidance on the continued use of existing IMO type portable tanks and road tank vehicles for the transport of dangerous goods’ for finalisation of amendments to DSC/Circ.12.
Other matters considered were IGF Code and development of guidelines for low-flashpoint fuels; Safety requirements for carriage of liquefied hydrogen in bulk; Amendments to IMSBC Code; Amendments to IMDG Code; Revised Guidelines for packing of cargo transport units; Unified interpretation to provisions of IMO safety, security and environment related Conventions; Consideration of reports of incidents involving dangerous goods or marine pollutants in packaged form on board ships or in port areas; Mandatory requirements for classification and declaration of solid bulk cargoes as harmful to the marine environment.
For more details on the deliberations of this committee see the final report on the IMO Documents Website, username and password required (available from HQ to IFSMA Members).