IFSMA Monthly Logs

During March 2006 IFSMA attended the following IMO and or ILO meetings:-

The Sub-Committee on Radio Communication and Search and Rescue, (COMSAR) 10th session: 6^th – 10^th

During April 2006 IFSMA attended the following IMO and or ILO meetings:-

The Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) 10th session: 3^rd–7^th April 2006, and the Legal Committee, 91^st session 24^th to   28^th March 2006

The Secretary General also attended and gave a presentation at the Command Seminar in Houston on the 11^th and 12^th April 2006

The fifth and final NI/IFSMA Command Seminar for 2005/6 held in Houston Texas.

The Command Seminar in Houston was very well attended and organised. Of particular interest was the USA’s viewpoint on the highly sensitive oily water separator issue.

The Sub-Committee Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) 10th session: 3^rd  – 7^th April

The following ballast water convention guidelines were agreed for submission to the MEPC for adoption:

• Sediment control on ships,
• Ballast water exchange design and construction standards,
• Additional measures including emergency situations and
• Designation of areas for ballast water exchange

The guidelines are part of a series developed to assist in the implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention), which was adopted in February 2004.

Review of MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code

Work continues on the review of MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships and the NOx Technical Code. The review of Annex VI is intended to take account of current technology and the need to reduce further air pollution from ships. The Sub-Committee noted that the contribution of ship emissions to air quality problems in many parts of the world is growing, and that many Governments are now considering how better to address ship emissions at local, national and international levels. Emissions from marine diesel engines are of concern to the international community because of their negative environmental effects such as eutrofication, acid deposition, and nitrification and also the adverse impact on human health and life quality.

However, the Sub-Committee noted that it is widely acknowledged by scientists and marine engine manufacturers that different technology improvements now exist that will enable significant improvement over the existing emission standards found in the current MARPOL Annex VI, especially for new engines, while leading manufacturers have revealed that significant emission improvements can also be achieved in engines manufactured before 2000 through valve upgrades and other adjustment procedures that are feasible through routine maintenance of the engines.

Evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of chemicals

Three new substances were classified under the amended IBC Code (Distilled Resin Oil, Oxygenated Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Mixture and Alkyl Benzene Mixtures (containing at least 50% toluene)).

The Sub-Committee agreed BLG circulars on:

• Use of the correct product name in the shipping document for bulk liquid cargoes;
• Example of an optional shipping document for the purposes of MARPOL Annex II and the IBC Code; and
• Products which have been classified or re-classified since the adoption of the amended IBC Code in 2004.

Requirements for protection of personnel in transport of cargoes with toxic substances

Draft amendments to SOLAS chapter VI, making material safety data sheets (MSDS) mandatory for ships carrying MARPOL Annex I cargoes and marine fuel oils, were finalized for submission to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).

Unified interpretations

A draft MSC circular on Interpretation to SOLAS regulation II 2/4.5.1.1, concerning pump-rooms intended solely for ballast transfer or fuel oil transfer, was finalized for approval by MSC 82.

Prevention of marine pollution during oil transfer operations between ships at sea

Work on the development of amendments to MARPOL Annex I for the prevention of marine pollution during oil transfer operations between ships at sea commenced. A correspondence group was established to develop a draft new chapter 8 of the revised MARPOL Annex I, containing regulations on the subject, for consideration at BLG 11.

Revised sewage standards ready for adoption

Revised Guidelines on implementation of effluent standards and performance tests for sewage treatment plants were finalized by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases when it met for its 10th session.

The revised guidelines are intended to replace the Recommendation on International effluent standards and guidelines for performance tests for sewage treatment plants adopted by resolution MEPC.2(VI) in 1976, and will be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) for adoption.

Revised regulations for the prevention of pollution by sewage, contained in Annex IV of MARPOL 73/78, entered into force on 1 August 2005.

The Sub-Committee also agreed a standard rate of discharge and the swept volume definition for the discharge of untreated and undiluted sewage that is not comminuted or disinfected from holding tanks.

Legal Committee (LEG), 91st session: 24-28 April 2006

Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident

Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident have been adopted by the IMO's Legal Committee, which met for its 91st session from 24 to 28 April 2006.

The Guidelines, developed by a Joint IMO/ILO Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident, will also be submitted to the ILO Governing Body, which meets in June, for adoption.

The Guidelines recommend that they be observed in all instances where seafarers may be detained by public authorities in the event of a maritime accident.

Seafarers are recognized as a special category of worker, the guidelines state. Given the global nature of the shipping industry and the different jurisdictions with which they may be brought into contact, they need special protection, especially in relation to contact with public authorities. The objective of the Guidelines is to ensure that seafarers are treated fairly following a maritime accident and during any investigation and detention by public authorities and that detention is for no longer than necessary.

The Guidelines give advice on steps to be taken by all those who may be involved following an incident: the port or coastal State, flag State, the seafarer's State, the shipowner and seafarers themselves. The emphasis is on co-operation and communication between those involved and in ensuring that no discriminatory or retaliatory measures are taken against seafarers because of their participation in investigations. The Guidelines say that all necessary measures should be taken to ensure the fair treatment of seafarers.

The Joint IMO/ILO Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident was established in 2005 to work on the development of appropriate guidelines for endorsement by IMO and ILO. A resolution prepared by the Group and subsequently adopted jointly by the IMO Assembly and the ILO Governing Body last December (A.987(24)) states that both ILO and IMO are seriously concerned about the need to ensure the fair treatment of seafarers in view of the growing use of criminal proceedings against seafarers after a maritime accident. The resolution recognises the urgency of adopting Guidelines as a matter of priority and, to this end, requested the Group to finalise its work expeditiously. The Group completed this task in March 2006.

Speaking at the close of the Legal Committee meeting, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos told delegates: "The adoption of guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers has marked a highlight of this session. By doing so, you were able, in a genuine demonstration of the IMO spirit of co-operation and compromise, to take the collective decision that it was vital to promulgate these guidelines by consensus and as soon as possible and so to send a clear signal to seafarers around the world that it is the wish of the IMO family that they should be treated fairly. I am sure it will be appreciated by the maritime community at large and the seafarers in particular."

Member Governments are invited, in the resolution, to implement the Guidelines as from 1 July 2006

Wreck removal convention

In other work, the Legal Committee moved a step closer towards completion of the draft text of the new convention on the removal of wrecks.

Once adopted and in force, the new convention will provide the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, from their EEZs, wrecks that may pose a hazard to navigation or, because of the nature of their cargo, to the marine and coastal environments, or to both. The new convention will also safeguard the rights and specify the duties of owners of wrecked ships to remove them by their own means, or with the assistance of salvors.

It is intended to hold a diplomatic conference to adopt the new convention in 2007.

HNS Convention

The Committee agreed on an interpretation of article 1.5(a)(ii) of the 1996 International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (the HNS Convention). The article refers to "noxious liquid substances carried in bulk referred to in Appendix II of Annex II to MARPOL 73/78, as amended", and the interpretation makes it clear that if, as expected, the revised Annex II to MARPOL 73/78 enters into force on 1 January 2007, the reference to "noxious liquid substances carried in bulk" in article 1.5(a)(ii) of the HNS Convention will, as from that date, refer to noxious liquid substances as defined in regulation 1.10 of the revised Annex II of MARPOL 73/78, which are carried in bulk.

Rodger MacDonald

Secretary General