At the 78th session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 78) the proposed amendment to SOLAS chapter XII was reversed and IMO has now ditched plans to make double hull mandatory from 2006. A draft proposal, made by the sub-committee on Design and Equipment in March this year, required that all future bulk carriers be of double side skin (DSS) construction.
However, discussions at MSC 78 resulted in division between those that called for the double side skin bulk carriers as an alternative, while others strongly argued for the double side skin concept as a matter of course. Despite a new FSA study being presented at the meeting, and a substantial number of delegates participating in the discussion, with an almost equal number of delegates for and against mandating the double side skin for bulk carriers, the Chairman was in the end forced to take a vote to get a clear decision. The voting resulted on a clear majority for not mandating DSS for future bulk carriers.
In its effort to amend SOLAS XII, MSC 78 maintained its previous decision to keep the minimum distance between inner and outer skin on DSS bulk carriers when built in the future at 1000mm.
Although new rules covering DSS bulk carriers of more than 150m in length carrying solid cargoes with a density of 1000kg/m3 will still be developed, shipowners will retain the option of sticking with ships of single-skin design.
For shipowners that want to order DSS vessels, flooding requirements will not be mandatory before amended SOLAS XII comes into force in 2006.
In the meantime, DNV will offer DSS bulk carriers or combination carriers with length of 150m and above the additional class notations Enhanced Strength (ES) (D, S18, S20) or ES (D, S17, S18, S20) on a voluntary basis.
Off diary
The most important thing to occur during MSC 78 relating to the implementation of the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS) to that happened at MSC/78 was in fact what did not occur!
Despite some quarters calling for postponing implementation, this matter was not raised during the meeting, so it seems the ISPS Code will be fully implemented on 1 July 2004, as initially planned.
Another ISPS-related issue that seemed to be omitted from the agenda was discussion concerning the possibility of issuing Interim Certificates prior to or on the 1 July ISPS Code deadline. Some Administrations had been vociferous in this regard and a paper has been presented by Marshall Islands to this effect. However, that paper was dismissed and all future Interim Certificates must thus be issued as laid out in the ISPS Code requirements (ISPS A/19.1.2).
However, the matter of Long Range Information and Tracking (LRIT) was discussed at length, and the Committee decided that only the minimum information detailing ships identity, position, time and date will be incorporated into the system. Apart from this, the Committee advised on a number of restrictions concerning access to the LRIT information. The item was then passed on to COMSAR for further deliberation.
The Committee also discussed how ships should behave when entering a port which is not an ISPS-approved port, or where the master has reason to believe that relevant mandatory security measures are not in place. A separate MSC on such procedures will be issued.
Another hot topic was the development on Guidance for Security Port State Control, known as ‘Control and Compliance Measures to Enhance Maritime Security’. The guide contains a list of items which may be used during ‘more detailed inspections’, and will probably develop into a baseline document for establishing compliance with Code regulations for Port State Security Controls in the future.
The US delegation made it clear that ships that do not carry a valid International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC) or Interim ISSC after 1 July 2004 will simply not be allowed into any US port. It is expected that other international key ports will follow suit.
Means of Access
During its 78th Session, the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) also approved the amendments to the Technical Provisions for Means of Access for Inspection.
The new amendments, first proposed by the Greek delegation, concerned that the original amendments approved by MSC 76 was too complex, too costly, and had too little flexibility, are much simpler and can be arranged as a part of the internal structure of the ship, and therefore become a safer system to be used for inspection by the ships crew and for the over all surveys by classification surveyors.
As these amendments were agreed prior to the first amendments entering into force, (January 2005) and the fact that it is having less comprehensive requirements than the last one, the MSC noted the inconvenience this will have to the ships being constructed between January 2005 and January 2006 when the last amendment is expected to come into force.
The latest amendments as approved by MSC 78 can be provided by Arve.Myklebust@dnv.com
Goal-Based Standards
The Administrations of The Bahamas, Greece, as well as the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) submitted a paper on the general principles for goal-based standards for future adoption by IMO. The document which was introduced by The Bahamas on behalf of the co-sponsors was well received by the Committee. The discussion concluded that delegations were urged to submit further comment on the proposal to next MSC 79, at which time a working group will be established to develop the standards.
IACS Common Rules
To inform IMO of the most important task in its history, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) presented its two common rules projects at MSC 78. The two projects the Joint Bulk Carrier Project (JBP) and the Joint Tanker Project (JTP) were very well received by the delegation.
Common IACS Rules have long been requested by the Administrations and the industry, alike, and according to schedule the Rules will be sent for hearing by the industry from the end of June, and the Rules will be adopted by IACS Council by the end of 2004.
IACS UI SC 181
The IACS unified interpretation for Bridge Design, Equipment, Arrangement and Procedures (BDEAP) was presented by IACS at the meeting in May. The BDEAP sets forth a set of requirements for compliance with principles and aims of SOLAS Regulation V/15 relating to bridge design, design and arrangement of navigational systems and equipment and bridge procedures.
Several delegations attending MSC 78 expressed their appreciation to IACS for its efforts in addressing Regulation V/15 through the UI.
The BDEAP was also considered by the Joint Working Group on the Roles of the Human Element (HE) which was re-established at MSC 78. One Administration had proposed that MSC should request HE to develop an alternative method to that proposed by IACS, based on the EU project on Advanced Technology to Optimize Maritime Operational Safety (ATOMOS).
The working group felt that there was no need to develop an alternative instrument to demonstrate compliance with SOLAS V/15 and gave its full support to the IACS initiative. The group concluded that the BDEAP would be a useful instrument to be applied for the purpose of survey and certification until the time of delivery of the ship.
MSC 78 concluded the issue by instructing the Subcommittee on Safety of Navigation to consider the BDEAP as an instrument for verifying compliance with SOLAS Regulation V/15, at its 50th session (NAV 50) which will take place in July.
Date: 12 February 2008