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Introduction
This is the last report of 2012 and the year has been eventful.
The inclusion of work conducted by the Secretariat in support of the Secretary General is important to give a full picture of what is being done on behalf of IFSMA. For many the work that goes on in the office is not recorded and the work is completed without comment.
IMO
There were no meetings to attend for the end of year at the IMO. The new agenda of meetings for 2013 has been published and the majority of meetings will be held during the first half of 2013. Therefore, this will be a busy time for all involved at the IMO.
IMO – Legal Committee – Preservation of Evidence
The original paper was titled “Draft guidelines on the collation and preservation of evidence following an allegation of a serious crime having taken place on board a ship or following a report of a missing person from a ship, and pastoral and medical care of victims” [LEG 99/INF.2]
The response to this paper has been completed and submitted by Charles Boyle of Nautilus International to the IMO on behalf of IFSMA. The draft revised paper has been reviewed and surprisingly the majority of changes that were proposed by IFSMA have been included in the paper. But there is still room for further improvement and IFSMA has accepted the current edition of the paper but reserve the right to debate the issues and points of concern that have not been included
Strategy Meeting - Executive Council - London 19 – 20 December 2012
This meeting went ahead as planned and was successful in the fact that many of the points raised were agreed upon and will form the core of the future of IFSMA. There was no set agenda but a number of bullet points were recorded to ensure that nothing was missed. Even with that I am sure that when reading the minutes of the meeting a number of issues will raise their head and will need to be visited over the forthcoming year.
Many of the changes discussed will come into force over 2013 and this continuous change and improvement will define the direction that IFSMA has to take if it is to succeed and continue
On the 20th, the International Maritime Organization Secretary General Mr. Koji Sekimizu, attended a ceremony at which he was awarded Honorary Membership of IFSMA. A buffet lunch followed during which a lot of discussion was conducted on Mr. Sekimizu’s vision for the IMO, which IFSMA fully supports and will offer services to assist especially for the Safety Symposium which will take place before the MSC which is scheduled for 12 – 21 June 2013.
Mr Brian Thomas of the Marine Society attended the award ceremony and took time out to enjoy the buffet lunch.
AGA 39 – Melbourne, Australia
Plans and agendas for this event are firming up at this time. There have been a lot of negotiations taking place and there have been changes in the dates of the event.
The AGA is linked with the 75th Anniversary Congress of IFSMA Member CMMA, who are our hosts this year.
The confirmed dates of the AGA are 16 and 17 April 2013 with the Congress taking place on 18 and 19 April.
The Call for Papers for the AGA has resulted in a few Papers being presented. It is hoped that this will improve in the near future.
It was with regret that an invitation from the Indian Association based in Mumbai, had to be declined because it clashed with the plans already in place. The same was explained to the USA for the invitation to attend a meeting in California. It is hoped that in the future invitations will be received that can be accepted.
Maritime Transport and Future Policies (Scotland)
There has been little movement on this project over the Christmas period but it is expected that this will change in the New Year where IFSMA will take an active part in the meetings work agenda of this group.
4th Maritime Piracy & Security Summit in London January 2013
The paper has been written and submitted to the organizers, ACI, and has been accepted. In addition, I have been invited to Chair the whole of the Summit and this has been accepted. It is hoped that by taking such an active part in this Summit the IFSMA profile can be raised.
The Agenda and list of speakers is extensive and will be reported after completion of the event.
IFSMA RES 1/2012 (38th AGA) – Further Development of SMCP
The International Marine Pilots’ Association (IMPA) has approached IFSMA to progress this matter. At this time, the main obstacle to progress has been finding a date and time to meet and investigate how to further this Resolution.
New IMO Training Project
There is nothing to report of any progress on this project at this time.
ECDIS Technical Group
There has been no movement with this TG since the last meeting in October 2012. The matter of ECDIS has progressed and been reported in various publications.
The planned work of the group to write a publication on type specific training for ECDIS appears to have been withdrawn at this time.
Sidelights Article
The January 2013 article is being prepared at this time and there is a schedule of 5 articles to be completed in 2013. Copies of the articles will be made available to members.
The January article will focus on criminalization and piracy issues.
DVD on Fair Treatment of Seafarers
IFSMA will be working with Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) on producing a set of guidelines for the project with the concepts of how it should be approached by SRI to the forefront.
Much of this will depend on the progress made and direction that VIDEOTEL wish to take with this project.
IFSMA will act in an advisory capacity.
Initiative on NGO Working Group
The first meeting of this group will take place on 29th January 2013. The response to this initiative has been very good. Although other events will take place on the same day the organizations contacted have asked if they can send other persons from their organizations to attend.
This first meeting will be to explore if such an Ad Hoc Group can work together and what format it should take. There is no set agenda and everyone attending has equal representation.
A full report will appear in February for members to read and also the agreed action plan for the way forward, if any.
Irish Institute of Master Mariners
This Association along with Pakistan and Norway will present themselves at the AGA 39 in Melbourne this year for the honour of hosting the 40th AGA in 2014.
There has been no further advancement on other matters with this Association.
International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA)
IFSMA was approached by the above organization with a view to strengthening ties and progressing common agenda items. After various communications this has been accepted and now a framework is being put in place to take this matter forward. They have already accepted an invitation to join the NGO Group.
In addition, there will be an informal meeting with their delegate who will attend COMSAR 17 on the 21 – 25 January. Plus it is hoped that the Secretary General IFSMA will meet with the President of IHMA when he visits London at the end of January 2013. This is to put the relationship on a more formal basis.
FAIRPLAY Article
I was interviewed by phone by Fairplay for an article in a forthcoming edition of the magazine. The questions centred around the Costa Concordia incident and about training and control. It should prove interesting to see how the answers have been interpreted for insertion in the article and if taken in context.
Branch Membership
Subject to the report on the Strategy Meeting held this month the direction to be taken will be revealed. At this time there are negotiations with various national Associations being investigated.
It has been quiet for most of December with not much in the way of advancement, but this is probably due to the Christmas and New Year vacations.
World VTS Guide
IFSMA is a Board Member of the World VTS Guide. The latest meeting was held on 12th December onboard HQS Wellington on the River Thames. The Assistant Secretary General, Capt Paul Owen, represented us on this occasion. The World VTS Guide website has recently had a redesign; this was launched during the VTS Symposium held in Istanbul during September. The Board considered the redesign a great success, it includes a content management system for VTS Authorities to enter and keep up to date their own data, this should result in a reduction in running costs. Some changes were proposed to the constitution of the Board, these will be reported after the next Board meeting. The guide can be found here www.worldvtsguide.org
HQ Renovation
There will be limited renovation of HQ taking place over 2013. There are certain tasks that need to be carried out but these have no cost implications. Any cost items will be fully researched to achieve the best price against product.
What is more important is that the membership of IFSMA makes use of this resource while visiting the London area.
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