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1988 Protocol News

25 May 2021

Autonomous Ships: IMO Completes Regulatory Scoping Exercise

(Photo: IMO)

As the maritime industry continues to develop and test the technologies required for safe autonomous vessel operations, many regulatory questions have remained.Setting out to help answer some of these questions, the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has recently completed a regulatory scoping exercise to analyze relevant ship safety treaties, in order to assess how maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) could be regulated.The scoping exercise was initiated in 2017 to determine how safe…

18 Jul 2019

S. Arabia Accedes to 2 More IMO Treaties

Saudi Arabia has acceded to two important International Maritime Organization (IMO)  treaties – the 1988 Protocol to the International Convention on Load Lines and the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks.The 1988 Load Lines protocol harmonizes the Load Lines Convention's survey and certification requirement with those contained in the SOLAS and MARPOL conventions and revises certain regulations in the technical Annexes to the convention.The Nairobi Convention provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may have the potential to affect adversely the safety of lives, goods and property at sea…

28 Mar 2019

Georgia Ratifies Load Lines Convention

Georgia is the 112th State to accede to the International Convention on Load Lines (1988 Protocol), announced  International Maritime Organization (IMO).According to the UN body, limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded are included in the treaty, making a significant contribution to the ship's safety. These limits are given in the form of freeboards.The treaty takes into account the potential hazards present in different ocean zones and different seasons, it said.The 1988 Protocol updates and revises the earlier treaty. The technical annex contains several additional safety measures concerning doors, freeing ports, hatchways and other items. These measures help to ensure the watertight and weathertight integrity of ships' hulls below the freeboard deck.

06 Dec 2018

Ukraine Accedes to International Convention on Load Lines

Eastern European country Ukraine has acceded to an important International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship safety treaty – the 1988 Protocol relating to the International Convention on Load Lines.Limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded make a significant contribution to the ship's safety, said a press release from IMO.These limits are given in the form of freeboards, which constitute, besides external weathertight and watertight integrity, the main objective of the Convention. Measures under the treaty take into account the potential hazards present in different zones and different seasons.The 1988 Protocol updates and revises the earlier treaty. The technical annex contains several additional safety measures concerning doors, freeing ports, hatchways and other items.

01 Jul 2014

Slew of New SOLAS Amendments Come into Force

IMO informs that new requirements under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to require all ships to have plans and procedures to recover persons from the water are among a set of SOLAS amendments that came into force on 1 July 2014. The SOLAS amendments, adopted in 2012, were developed as part of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s work on large passenger ship safety and are aimed at ensuring all ships have the capability to effectively serve as a rescue asset and have the right equipment to be able to rescue persons from the water and from survival craft, in the event of an incident. This new requirement is intended to enhance safety at sea and also to provide support to search and rescue coordinators in all types of rescue operations and…

06 Jan 2014

IMO SOLAS Briefing

SOLAS, MARPOL amendments entered into force on 1 January 2014. IMO reminds all of immediate implications to shippers, mariners and vessels. ​Amendments to SOLAS, MARPOL and the Load Lines protocol entered into force on 1 January 2014: A number of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)  and the 1988 Load Lines Protocol  entered into force or took effect from 1 January 2014.

03 Jan 2014

Maritime Safety & Environment Rule Changes Clock In

Image courtesy of IMO

The amendments cover passenger ship safety (in relation to safe return to port after a flooding casualty); the testing of free-fall lifeboats; minimum safe manning levels;  prohibition of blending onboard; the revised MARPOL Annex III; the United States Caribbean Sea Emission Control Area; and the Winter Seasonal Zone off the southern tip of Africa. Amendment to SOLAS regulation II-1/8-1, introduces a mandatory requirement for new passenger ships for either onboard stability computers or shore-based support…

02 Jan 2014

SOLAS, MARPOL Amendments in Effect

A number of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)  and the 1988 Load Lines Protocol  entered into force or took effect from January 1, 2014. The amendments cover passenger ship safety (in relation to safe return to port after a flooding casualty); the testing of free-fall lifeboats; minimum safe manning levels;  prohibition of blending onboard; the revised MARPOL Annex III; the United States Caribbean Sea Emission Control Area; and the Winter Seasonal Zone off the southern tip of Africa. amendment to SOLAS regulation XI-1/2 on enhanced surveys…

18 Jun 2009

ECDIS, BNWAS Mandatory under SOLAS

Amendments to SOLAS regulation V/19, to make mandatory the carriage of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm Systems (BNWAS), under SOLAS chapter V, Safety of Navigation, were adopted, with an expected entry into force date of 1 January 2011. The requirements will be mandatory for new ships and phased-in for existing ships. •    Amendments to the title of Chapter VI to read, Carriage of Cargoes “and Oil Fuels” and to Regulation VI/5-1 on Material safety data sheets (MSDS) to require  MSDS to be provided for ships carrying oil or oil fuel, prior to the loading of such oil as cargo in bulk or bunkering of oil fuel. The MSC also approved Recommendations for material safety data sheets (MSDS) for MARPOL Annex I type cargoes and oil fuels.

27 May 2009

IMO Safety Committee, Piracy on Agenda

IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is meeting at the Organization's London Headquarters for its 86th session from 27 May to 5 June. The packed agenda includes discussion on piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, the implementation of the Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system, the development of goal-based standards for new ship construction and the adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The MSC will review the latest statistics on piracy and armed robbery against ships, in particular in relation to the situation off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden…

13 May 2002

IMO Will Focus on Security Issues at the MSC

Security issues to fore at IMO safety meeting Maritime security issues are high on the agenda of IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), which meets for its 75th session from May 15 to 24 , as Member States prepare for a Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Security scheduled for December 2002, at which any new or amended legislation could be adopted. Other major issues to be tackled include the adoption of proposed amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended; ongoing work on the safety of bulk carrier ships and large passenger vessels; implementation of the revised STCW Convention; and the adoption of new and amended ships routeing measures.