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Busy Agenda News

05 Jun 2019

Maritime Safety Committee Meets

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is meeting for its 101st session, with a busy agenda encompassing maritime autonomous surface ships, polar shipping, goal-based standards and other agenda items.A number of draft amendments will be adopted, including amendments to mandatory Codes covering the carriage of potentially hazardous cargoes: the MSC is set to adopt the draft consolidated edition of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code), and a comprehensive set of draft amendments to the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (IBC Code).The MSC will be updated on the regulatory scoping exercise on maritime autonomous surface ships…

04 Dec 2018

​Maritime Safety Committee Met for 100th Session

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has met for its milestone 100th session, with a busy agenda encompassing maritime autonomous surface ships, fatigue guidance for seafarers, polar shipping, goal-based standards and other agenda items.According to a International Maritime Organization (IMO) press release, the MSC will receive the report of a correspondence group which has been testing the proposed methodology for the regulatory scoping exercise on maritime autonomous surface ships, taking into account different levels of autonomy.Focusing on the human element, the MSC is expected to approve revised guidance on fatigue, a key tool for seafarers and ship operators.

27 Apr 2018

IMO Urges Governments to Implement HNS Convention

The IMO treaty covering compensation for damage caused by Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) transported by sea is the subject of a workshop underway at International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters, London (26-27 April). The event  is focused on helping governments to understand and implement the HNS Convention, and follows excellent progress made earlier this week, when Canada and Turkey signed up to the treaty. This brings the total contributing cargo to 28.7 million tonns – 72% of that needed for the treaty to enter into force. By addressing practical issues raised by States implementing the Convention, the workshop aims to enable further governments to sign up to the treaty.

09 Apr 2018

Global Shipping to Adopt GHG Strategy

The adoption of an initial strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships is one of the key items on the agenda of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72), which is now under way at International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London (9-13 April). The initial strategy will be a framework for all Member States, which is expected to set out the future vision for international shipping, the levels of ambition to reduce GHG emissions and guiding principles. Following discussions in an intersessional working group last week, the Committee is expected to instruct a working group to finalize the strategy for adoption. The Committee will also address the implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit.

25 Sep 2017

Implementation of Standards On Board Ships Matters

Once technical standards have been developed by IMO and adopted into national laws, the next step is implementation on board ships. This is the role of both flag States, who issue surveys and certificates, as well as port States, who can inspect all ships in their ports. The Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments, meeting this week for its fourth session (III 4, 25-29 September) provides a forum where all matters relating to implementation are discussed. This week’s agenda includes the finalization of revised and updated Procedures for Port State Control, including updated guidelines on the certification of seafarers, hours of rest and manning.

07 Jun 2017

IMO Set to Adopt Passenger Ship Safety Amendments

Revised safety requirements to ensure new-build passenger ships remain afloat after a major incident are among a set of amendments set for adoption by International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), which meets from 7-16 June. The revisions to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) chapter II-1, relating to subdivision and damage stability, follow a substantive review of SOLAS chapter II-1, focusing in particular on passenger ships. The review has taken into account recommendations arising from the investigation into the 2012 Costa Concordia incident. Also up for adoption is the latest set of amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code); as well amendments to a number of other Codes.

29 Jun 2016

Maritime Knowledge Hub Opens in the UK

Business owners across the U.K. wanting to drive growth in the maritime sector are being urged to engage with the newly opened Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead, Liverpool City Region. The hub, based near Cammell Laird shipyard, is celebrating the formal completion of its recent fit-out and is now planning a busy agenda of events, seminars, training and networking. The completion of Phase 1 of the Maritime Knowledge Hub is a joint venture between Mersey Maritime, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Wirral Council on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The fit-out was completed by Wirral based Beech Group, which specializes in demolition, but have a refurbishment division.

09 May 2013

Ship Energy, BWMS, Recycling on MEPC Agenda

The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets for its 65th session from 13 to 17 May 2013, at IMO HQ in London. Items on a busy agenda include the implementation of energy-efficiency regulations and the ballast water management and ship-recycling treaties. The MEPC is expected to continue its work on further developing technical and operational measures relating to energy-efficiency measures for ships, following the entry into force, on   January 2013, of the new chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI, which includes requirements mandating the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), for all ships.

21 Nov 2012

IMO Safety Committee to Tackle Busy Agenda

IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meets at the Organization's London HQ for its 91st session from 26 to 30 November 2012. The busy agenda includes discussions on passenger ship safety; the adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); and consideration of matters related to piracy and armed robbery against ships and other items submitted by the IMO Sub-Committees. The MSC is expected to establish a working group on passenger ship safety to consider relevant issues, including the action plan drawn up at the last session following the Costa Concordia incident in January. Draft amendments to SOLAS regulation III/17-1 to require ships to have plans and procedures to recover persons from the water.

22 Jun 2012

Safer Navigation with International Standards for Electronic Systems

Morand Fachot, a technical writer with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), worked before as a BBC journalist, writing also for the Financial Times Business Group and several international publications

Carrying an estimated 90% of world trade and billions of passengers every year, international shipping represents the life blood of the global economy. Safety, always a major concern for seafarers, has made huge advances in the last century. However, the massive increase in traffic in recent decades requires, among other things, new or better global communication and navigation solutions resting on internationally-agreed standards to maintain and improve safety levels. Shipping was among the very first industries to adopt widely implemented international safety standards.

10 May 2012

Piracy & Passenger Safety High on IMO Committee Agenda

Photo credit USN

Piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean will be high on the agenda when IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meets at the Organization's London Headquarters for its 90th session from 16 to 25 May 2012. A High-Level Segment will be held on the opening day (16 May), intended to provide an opportunity for a full policy debate among Member Governments on how the international community should deal with issues…

20 Mar 2002

IMO Secretary General William O'Neil Addresses Bulk Carrier Safety

IMO Secretary, General William O'Neil, has highlighted the need for widespread and concerted efforts to improve bulk carrier safety. Among other items on a busy agenda, the Sub-Committee has been requested by the Maritime Safety Committee to work on a number of tasks related to bulk carrier safety that emerged from the recommendations of the re-opened formal investigation into the loss of the m.v. Derbyshire. Specifically, the Sub-Committee will be looking at alternative means of sealing up anchor chain pipes to prevent water entry and whether access to chain lockers should be by bolted manholes and not doors. It will also be considering…

19 Apr 2002

Security Tops IMO Agenda

Headquarters, London, April 22 - 26). the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation(SUA Convention) and its related Protocol. Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (STB Convention). discussed are proposals to incorporate a number of additional offences into the SUA Convention. define the terms "ownership" and "control" of ships in the context of maritime security. that many IMO instruments place responsibilities on the shipowner. continued efficiency of commercial navigation. also expected to examine a draft protocol to establish a voluntary third tier of compensation for oil pollution victims, supplementary to the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund Convention, 1992.