IFSMA Monthly Logs

IFSMA hosted a two day meeting of the Securitas Mare Consortium ‘Crowd and Crisis Management study’ and attended three meetings at IMO this month: The 36^th session of the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watch-keeping (STW) and the 49^th Session of the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection (FP)

IFSMA also attended the ILO/IMO Joint Working Group on the fair treatment of Seafarers in the event of Accidents held at IMO 17^th to 19^th January.

The STW 36 was well attended and produced the following outcomes.

IFSMA was able to arrange for a presentation to attending delegates during this session of STW explaining the work that has been done by the Consortium (IFSMA is a member) on its course on crowd and crisis management.

It was interesting to see that the Sub-Committee agreed to incorporate the "safe area" concept in IMO model course 1.28 - Crowd management, passenger safety and safety training for personnel providing direct services to passengers in passenger spaces and IMO model course 1.29 - Proficiency in crisis management and human behaviour training including passenger safety, cargo safety and hull integrity training

It was endorsed that there will be a minimum mandatory training and certification requirements for persons to be designated as ship security officers. Candidates for a certificate of proficiency as a ship security officer will be required to demonstrate they have the knowledge to complete a range of tasks, duties and responsibilities, including: maintenance and supervision of the implementation of a ship security plan; assessment of security risk, threat, and vulnerability; undertaking regular inspections of the ship to ensure that appropriate security measures are implemented and maintained; ensuring that security equipment and systems, if any, are properly operated, tested and calibrated; and encouraging security awareness and vigilance.

The Sub-Committee endorsed draft amendments to the STCW Convention and to parts A and B of the STCW Code. The proposed amendments include:

• New STCW regulation VI/5 - Requirements for the issue of certificates of proficiency for Ship Security Officers
• New STCW Code section A-VI/5 - Requirements for the issue of certificates of proficiency for Ship Security Officers, including table A-VI/5 Specifications of minimum standards of proficiency for ship security officers; and
• New STCW Code section B-VI/5 - Guidance regarding training for Ship Security Officers.

The Sub-committee also agreed a draft MSC circular providing guidance on training and documentation for company security officers which includes a table of knowledge, understanding and proficiencies (KUPS) relevant to the company security officer

The Sub-Committee endorsed draft amendments to part A of the STCW Code on additional training requirements for the launching and recovery operations of fast rescue boats, for submission to the MSC with a view to adoption at MSC 81 (in 2006). The proposed amendments have been prepared in response to reports of injuries to seafarers in numerous incidents in launching and recovering of fast rescue boats in adverse weather conditions.

The Sub-Committee also endorsed a draft MSC circular providing guidance on training for launch and recovery teams and boat crews.

Following the decision of the ILO Preparatory Technical Conference to transfer the responsibility for training and certification related to ratings, excluding the ship's cook, to IMO, the Sub-Committee considered issues relating to the development of standards for the inclusion of competencies for ratings in the STCW convention.

It was also agreed that the term "able seaman" needed to be retained as it had implications within the ILO regulatory framework, in particular to minimum basic monthly pay or wages, and that the proposed standards to be developed should include both deck and engine-room ratings, with a possibility of also addressing general purpose ratings.  It was agreed that the proposed standards should follow the structure of the present STCW Convention, to include: competence; knowledge, understanding and proficiency; methods of demonstrating competence; and criteria for evaluating competence.

The "safe area" concept was developed by the MSC working group on passenger ship safety and is linked to the guiding philosophy that future passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability so that, in the event of a casualty, persons can stay safely on board as the ship proceeds to port.

Reporting on the  Joint  IMO/ILO ad hoc working group on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers as follows.

IFSMA was able to express its deep concern that Shipmasters and other seafarers were being criminalised over incidents for which they were not to blame. It was generally agreed that Guidelines should be developed but after the USA delegation had proposed that the first step should be to identify the responsibilities of the parties involved, namely Flag states, Coastal States, Port States, National states of the Seafarers, the Seafarers themselves and Shipowners, progress was virtually halted for a day and a half.

Inevitably, the draft guidelines were not prepared at this session, but at least a draft Resolution has been prepared that would accompany Guidelines in the future.

To help to continue the way forward, Panama will lead a correspondence group so that guidelines may be presented at the next meeting of the Joint ILO/IMO working group in January 2006,

At the meeting of FP 49 the following outcomes are of interest to IFSMA.

The Sub-Committee agreed that the "safe area should generally be an internal space, however, the use of an external space as a safe area may be allowed by an Administration, taking into account any restriction to the area of operation and relevant expected environmental conditions."

The "safe area" concept was developed by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) working group on passenger ship safety and is linked to the guiding philosophy that future passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability so that, in the event of a casualty, people could stay safely on board as the ship proceeds to port or to a place of refuge. MSC 78 in May 2004 agreed that: "A safe area(s), in the context of a fire casualty, is, from a perspective of habitability, any area outside the main vertical zone(s) in which a fire has occurred that can safely accommodate all persons onboard to protect them from hazards to life or health and provide them with basic services."

The Sub-Committee also agreed the list of basic services needed within a safe area to ensure that the health of the passengers and crew is maintained. It includes sanitation; water; food; space for medical care; shelter from the weather and so on.

The Sub-Committee also agreed draft Guidelines on the assessment of evacuation guidance systems and draft Interim Guidelines for the testing, approval and maintenance of evacuation guidance systems alternative to the low-location lighting systems for submission to the MSC. The aim is to provide for the use of alternative means of satisfying SOLAS chapter II-2, which requires the marking of the means of escape by lighting or photoluminescent strips indicators placed not more than 300 mm above the deck at all points of the escape route. The alternatives could include directional sound systems.

The Sub-Committee agreed, in principle, draft amendments to MSC/Circ.913 on Guidelines for the approval of fixed water-based local application fire-fighting systems for use in category A machinery spaces relating to installation of nozzles, automatic release, the need to protect oil-fired equipment and discharge piping.

Most of the remaining work related to FE technical drafts being referred to MSC and have no immediate interest to our members.

Finally, the Secretary General visited Florida with a teaching commitment and during that visit was able to meet Captain Jerome Benyo who has been representing IFSMA at IMO Working Group 13 meetings when they are held in the USA.