IFSMA Monthly Logs

The following meetings took place during this period.

Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI), 14th session: 5-9 June 2006

A draft Action Plan to tackle the alleged inadequacy of port reception facilities - seen as a major hurdle to overcome in order to achieve full compliance with MARPOL - was agreed by the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation when it met for its 14th session.
The development of the action plan followed a submission to the MEPC by the shipping and port industry's Reception Facilities Forum, which has identified a number of problem areas associated with the inadequacy of port reception facilities. It should be noted that IFSMA takes part in this forum and hosted the May meeting. See also the GSIS web site now available.

Review of the Survey Guidelines under the HSSC

The Sub-Committee reviewed proposed draft amendments to the Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) (resolution A.948(23)), which are intended to bring the guidelines up to date with amendments to IMO instruments. A correspondence group was established to further develop the draft amendments and prepare a consolidated draft of the Revised Survey Guidelines, for submission to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and MEPC, for approval, and then to the 25th Assembly in 2007 for adoption.

Draft PSC guidelines on seafarers' working hours agreed

Draft port State control guidelines on seafarers' working hours were agreed, for submission to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and to the ILO.

The Sub-Committee also noted the view of one delegation that the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) should consider making bridge resource management training mandatory for deck officers under the STCW Convention, to help reduce casualties.

Review of the Code for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents

The Sub-Committee continued its review of the Code for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents, with a view to making the Code mandatory. The foreword, general provisions, mandatory standards and recommended practices in the new draft revised code were further developed, taking into account the Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident, which were adopted by the Legal Committee at its 91st session in April, and by the Governing Body of ILO in June 2006. A correspondence group was established to continue the work.

Casualty statistics and investigations.

The Sub-committee conducted its review of the analyses of reports of investigations into casualties, making ample use of the direct reporting and viewing facilities of the GISIS module on casualties. The Overview of lessons learned from casualty investigations and the Lessons learned for presentation to seafarers, prepared by the correspondence group on casualty analysis, were approved by the Sub-Committee. Excessive hours of work or insufficient rest can contribute to fatigue, identified as an important contributing factor to maritime casualties and to health problems of seafarers. The guidance notes that States which have ratified ILO Convention No.180 (Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention) are entitled to examine the records for hours of work or minimum rest periods on ships flying their flags. (The ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006), adopted in February, incorporates the provisions of ILO Convention No.180 relative to seafarers' hours of work.)

Harmonization of port State control activities

The Sub-Committee initiated the development of a framework to promote the global harmonization and co ordination of port State control activities, bearing in mind the fundamental principle that flag State implementation is the very first line of defence for compliance with international standards, with port State control being complementary to the role of the flag States. The Sub-Committee benefited in this matter from the participation of representatives of seven regional port State control regimes, which have signed agreements of co-operation with IMO and attended as observers from inter-governmental organizations (IGOs).
For global harmonization of port State control, the following were considered to be the most important elements:

·                ratification by all Member States of the IMO instruments and other relevant Conventions (i.e. ILO Conventions);

·                unified understanding and implementation by authorities and port State control officers of the provisions contained in the Conventions, codes and guidelines;

·                compatibility of port State control procedures, reporting systems and standard formats;

·                transparency of information as well as reliable statistics on inspection results;

·                co-operation and efficient exchange of information between Member States and port State control regimes;

·                analysis of port State control activities, practices and statistics; training of qualified professionals as port State control officers and good understanding of processes, standards, codes and practices by all involved (flag States, port State control officers, authorities, crew, recognized organizations, etc.);

·                and revision of the available training material such as IMO model course 3.09 and developing globally harmonized training materials.

Technical Co-operation Committee, 56th session: 13-15 June 2006

During the biennium, IMO delivered 224 courses, seminars and workshops at the national regional and global levels, training 7,367 participants.

The activities delivered covered a wide range of subjects with maritime safety issues remaining central to the Programme, while the enhancement of maritime security continued to be a priority.

The Committee agreed on the need to consider further the issue of securing the long-term financing of the ITCP, on the basis of maintaining the current provision whereby there is an annual transfer of 75 per cent of all surpluses in the Organization's Printing Fund to the TC Fund, supplemented by bilateral and multilateral funding, partnerships and other funding.

IMO and the Millennium Development Goals

The Committee noted that IMO strongly supported the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, with this year's World Maritime Day theme being "Technical Co-operation: IMO's Response to the 2005 World Summit", reflecting the work of the Organization within the wider context of the international agenda set by the United Nations.

In particular, it was noted that IMO's work would contribute substantively to the delivery of the 2005 World Summit Outcome in a number of areas: in promoting environmental sustainability; in strengthening the Organization's maritime security framework and securing global consensus on the Organization's work on vital shipping lanes, recognized by the United Nations as a key element in the global fight against terrorism and in sustaining the security of maritime transport and the global supply chain in general. It was emphasized that the Organization's ITCP contributed to the UN's wider development goals by promoting sustainability, human resource development, capacity building and the promotion of women in the maritime sector.

The needs of Africa

The Committee noted that the special needs of Africa were one of the key objectives of the Millennium Declaration and that, through the 2006 World Maritime Day theme, particular emphasis would be given to the maritime needs of Africa.

Partnerships

The Committee noted that, to date, there were 35 partnership arrangements in operation. Twenty-one had been made with developing countries and 14 with international and regional organizations. Seven partnership agreements had been developed since June 2005, with the Governments of Australia, Canada, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, Venezuela, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the non-governmental industry organization INTERFERRY.

Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme programme

The global ITCP programme on implementation of the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme was initiated in 2005. Sixty-eight participants attended the three training courses for auditors held in Slovenia (September 2005), Sri Lanka (February 2006) and Ecuador (March 2006). In addition to two other courses in 2006 (Egypt in June and Tanzania in September), another four are scheduled for 2007, to be held in Fiji, Algeria, Nigeria and in the Caribbean region in a host country to be confirmed.

The first audit is expected to start in September 2006 and, as at June 2006, 20 Governments, five of them from developing countries, had indicated their preparedness to be audited.

World Maritime University

In 2005, WMU had a total of 282 full-time M.Sc. students in three campuses, the highest number of students ever registered (including 199 students in the Malmö campus and 44 and 39 students in the Shanghai and Dalian campuses in China, respectively). In addition, over 300 students attended short-term Professional Development and distance-learning courses organized by WMU, bringing to over 600 the total number of maritime professionals trained by the University through such courses. WMU graduates now totaled 2,061 graduates from 144 countries and territories worldwide.

Facilitation Committee (FAL), 33rd session: 3-7 July 2006

Persons rescued at sea - administrative procedures to be reviewed

The administrative procedures involved when dealing with persons rescued at sea, especially those who subsequently turn out to be involved in unregulated migration, should be reviewed, with a view to preparing guidance, the Facilitation Committee agreed at its 33rd session.
The Committee established a correspondence group on administrative procedures for persons rescued at sea. The group will identify relevant administrative procedures from Member States, consider the procedures and identify common threads and prepare additional guidance that could be useful for the expeditious and orderly disembarkation of persons rescued at sea.

The Committee noted that, on 1 July 2006, amendments to the SOLAS and SAR Conventions concerning the treatment of persons rescued at sea (adopted in May 2004) entered into force. These amendments were developed in response to IMO Assembly resolution A.920(22) on Review of safety measures and procedures for the treatment of persons rescued at sea, which was adopted by IMO's 22nd Assembly in 2001, following a number of incidents that highlighted concerns surrounding the treatment of persons rescued at sea, in particular undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and stowaways.

Revision of the Guidelines for the Prevention and Suppression of the Smuggling of Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals

The Committee approved the draft revised Guidelines for the Prevention and Suppression of the Smuggling of Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals on ships engaged in International Maritime Traffic, resolution A. 872(20), and agreed to adopt them at FAL 34, subject to any amendments that may be proposed by the MSC.

On-line access to databases of certificates and documents.

The Committee established a correspondence group on on-line access to databases of certificates and documents, with a view to identifying which certificates might be appropriate for inclusion in online databases, identifying and explaining the steps leading to the online access to certificates and documents required to be carried on board ships and commenting on the reliability and security of databases on online access to information.

Both the MSC and MEPC have expressed the view that further work is needed before the implementation of such a system, which, from the facilitation point of view, would have the advantages of reducing delays in ports, as port State control officers could examine and verify the validity of certificates and documents before a ship's arrival, and enhancing security, as it would reduce the risk of fraudulent paper certificates. On-line verification could also reduce the risk of vessels being detained in ports if paper certificates were accidentally destroyed due to fire or water or other incidents on board, enable the master to spend less time collecting and presenting certificates and documents for ship inspections, since they could be verified before arrival and enable port State control authorities to access a ship's certificates and documents at all times, enabling any problems between port State and flag State to be addressed, without thereby considering on-line access to certificates and documents as an alternative to their physical inspection.

Difficulties in the carriage of IMDG Code class 7 radioactive materials

A correspondence group was established to prepare a working process by which IMO, in co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will monitor, facilitate and co-ordinate the resolution of difficulties identified in the carriage of IMDG Code Class 7 radioactive materials. The aim is to alleviate the reported difficulties encountered in the shipment of IMDG Code class 7 radioactive materials and, in particular, Cobalt-60, a non-fissile radioactive material (UN 2916), which has medical and public health uses including sterilization of medical supplies and food products.

Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV), 52nd session: 17^th -21^st  July 2006

Apart from reviewing the traffic routing schemes much of this Sub-Committee’s work related to considering performance standards for navigation equipment, bridge systems and ECDIS etc.  The development of e-navigation is a priority consideration as required by MSC. IFSMA is part of the correspondence group involved with this project

Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels' Safety (SLF), 49th session: 24-28 July 2006

Passenger ship safety - draft SOLAS amendments finalized

Draft regulations had been approved by MSC 81, subject to final modifications. Specific draft regulations revised include those relating to safe return to port after a casualty, and to water ingress detection and flood level monitoring systems.

The draft amendments are part of a package developed by IMO to improve passenger ship safety, based on the guiding philosophy of using the ship as its own best lifeboat. As an example, the proposed draft regulation II-1/8-1 requires a passenger ship to be designed to be capable of returning to port under its own power when subject to flooding of any single watertight compartment. It was agreed that MSC 82 should decide on the specific size of passenger ship (in terms of numbers of passengers carried) to which the regulation should be applied.

Revision of guidance to master for avoiding dangerous situations

The Sub-Committee agreed to the draft revised Guidance to the master for avoiding dangerous situations in adverse weather and sea conditions, for submission to MSC 82 for approval. The guidance will replace the existing Guidance to the master for avoiding dangerous situations in following and quartering seas (MSC/Circ.707).

Tonnage measurement of open-top containerships

The Sub-Committee agreed to a draft MSC resolution on Recommendations concerning tonnage measurement of open-top containerships, which includes a method to calculate a reduced gross tonnage of open-top containerships, for submission to MSC 82 for adoption. The calculation amends the provisional formulae for reduced gross tonnage for open-top containerships prescribed in TM.5/Circ.4, which was issued in 1993.

Harmonization of damage stability provisions in all IMO instruments

The Sub-Committee finalized its work to harmonize damage stability provisions in IMO instruments, taking into account the revised SOLAS chapter II-1, and agreed to draft editorial amendments to the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on Board Ships (INF Code) and modifications to the footnote of the revised SOLAS chapter II-1 related to the 1966 LL Convention and the 1988 LL Protocol.

Rodger MacDonald

Secretary General