Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Committee On Bulk Liquids And Gases News

15 Feb 2013

IMO Sub-Committee Agrees IGC Revision

The draft revised International Code for the Construction & Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (the IGC Code) agreed. The IGC Code was agreed by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) when it met recently for its 17th session. The revised Code has been developed following a comprehensive five-year review and is intended to take into account the latest advances in science and technology. It will be submitted to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 92) in June, for approval, with a view to adoption at MSC 93 in 2014. The IGC Code was first adopted in 1983, to provide an international standard for the safe carriage by sea of liquefied gases (and other substances listed in the Code) in bulk…

15 Nov 2012

IMO PaperSmart Meeting Restructures Sub-Committees

The IMO Council, meeting for its 109th session in London has endorsed, in principle, a restructuring of IMO's Sub-Committees. The Council meeting was the first “PaperSmart” meeting for the Organization, and was considered a success by delegates. Delegates were invited to make the meeting "paperless" (PaperSmart), to reduce costs and make IMO meetings "environment friendly". Delegates were asked to come to the meeting with their own laptops, tablet computers, etc., together with their own Internet cables to connect to wired access points in the main meeting room. An enhanced wireless facility (Wifi) was provided for improved wireless access to the IMO documents site (IMODOCS) and to the Internet. The restructuring is part of a review and reform process initiated by Secretary-General Mr.

06 Feb 2012

IMO Head Defends Ship Size, Regs

Koji Sekimizu Secretary General of the IMO. (Source: IMO)

According to the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world’s largest ships are well regulated and safe, Bloomberg news agency reported following an interview. According to the Bloomberg report, regulators haven’t let vessels, especially cruise ships, get so large that they present a hazard, according to Koji Sekimizu, secretary-general of the IMO. The 290-m Costa Concordia was carrying 4,200 passengers and crew on a Mediterranean cruise when it struck rocks on Jan. 13 near .

23 Mar 2010

Gas As Ship Fuel, GL Forum

Gas as ship fuel was the topic of the March 18 GL First Class Exchange Forum which highlighted GL's approach towards the environmental concerns of the maritime industry. The forum addressed all aspects related to LNG as an alternative ship fuel. Invited speakers presented the LNG supply chain development from a ship owner's and gas terminal operator's view. Regulatory developments at IMO were explained by a representative of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, Germany. Details about a joint industry project on a gas-fuelled container feeder vessel were discussed by representatives of Germanischer Lloyd (GL)…

08 May 2008

Biofouling Center Stage

Legislation has been favorably reported out of the Senate Committee in Commerce, Science, and Transportation that would, if enacted, constitute the first official steps by the federal government to come to grips with biofouling of the hulls of ships. The Ballast Water Management Act of 2007 (S. 1578) would, among other things, require the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct a study of vessel-borne vectors (other than ballast water and sediment), specifically including vessel hulls, anchors, and equipment.

12 Feb 2008

IMO Group Agrees on Pollution Reduction Measure

Draft amendments to revise the MARPOL regulations on the prevention of air pollution from ships were agreed by the IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) when it met last week (4-8 February) for its 12th session. Following lengthy and technically challenging discussions in the Air Pollution Working Group, the Sub-Committee agreed a draft revised Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention and amendments to the NOx Technical Code. These will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which meets for its 57th session from 31 March to 4 April 2008. A number of options remain open for discussion at the MEPC, which is expected to approve the amendments prior to their formal adoption at MEPC 58 (6 to 10 October 2008).

08 Jan 2008

SCC Meetings Set

The Shipping Coordinating Committee, sponsored by the US Department of State, will hold two meetings in Washington, DC. The first meeting, on January 22, is to prepare for the upcoming session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment. Topics on the agenda include the longitudinal strength of tankers and prevention of accidents with lifeboats. The second meeting, on January 30, is to prepare for the upcoming session of IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases. Topics on the agenda include evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of chemicals and requirements for carriage of bio-fuels and bio-fuel blends. 73 Fed. Reg. 1394 (HK Law).

21 Dec 2007

Scientific Study to Assist MARPOL Amendment Process Completed

A comprehensive study commissioned by IMO to assist in the planned revision of regulations governing air pollution from ships has been successfully completed. The informal cross government/industry scientific group of experts was set up, in July 2007, by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos following approval by the Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). It was tasked with reviewing the impact on the environment, on human health and on the shipping and petroleum industries, of applying any of the fuel options proposed to reduce SOx and particulate matter generated by shipping, as well as the consequential impact such fuel options could have on other emissions, including CO2 emissions from ships and refineries.

06 Jul 2007

IMO's MEPC to Meet

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will consider current options to reduce air pollution from ships, when it meets for its 56th session from 9 to 13 July, at the Horticultural Halls, London. Mr. Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is scheduled to address the opening session (at 0930 on Monday 9 July) of the Committee, on the invitation of IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos. The Committee has a packed agenda, which also includes the further consideration of options to reduce air pollution from ships; the current draft of a proposed ship recycling convention…

20 Jul 2007

MEPC Progresses on Key Issues

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) made progress on a packed agenda when it met for its 56th session from 9 to 13 July in London. Among a series of important decisions, it agreed to commission a study into the impact of proposed measures to reduce air pollution from ships. The Committee also further developed the proposed Ship Recycling Convention, discussed issues relating to the implementation of the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention and adopted a number of amendments to the MARPOL Convention. Mr. Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) addressed the opening session of the Committee, at the invitation of IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos.

26 Apr 2007

Ship Emissions Tops IMO Agenda

Work on reviewing regulations to reduce emissions of air pollutants from ships was high on the agenda when the IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) met for its 11th session from 16-20 April 2007. It followed on from an intersessional meeting of the BLG Working Group on Air Pollution, which took place from 13 to 17 November 2006, in Oslo, Norway, to develop the necessary MARPOL amendments. The Working Group on Air Pollution was reconvened during the current session, chaired by Mr. Bryan Wood-Thomas (United States), to progress the work in hand. The Working Group reviewed the proposed three-tier system approach for NOx emission limits applicable to new engines…

22 Nov 2006

North Sea SECA Enters into Force

entry into force of new air pollution regulations on 22 November 2006. relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78). exceed 1.50% m/m. system. Control Area under the regulations. implemented and operational since 19 May 2006. relate to the conduct of surveys and issuing of certificates. Gases (BLG). particulate matter.

16 Oct 2002

MEPC Focuses on Environmental Issues

As environmental issues took center stage at IMO during the 48th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) last week (October 7 to 11), delegates from more than 80 countries discussed a range of topics relating to the protection of the marine environment from pollution by ships. Under the chairmanship of Australia's Mike Julian, the Committee progressed its work in several key areas, including ship recycling, ballast water management and greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Draft IMO Guidelines on ship recycling were discussed in detail, with a view to producing a final draft for adoption by the next IMO Assembly in 2003. The draft guidelines note that, in the process of recycling ships, virtually nothing goes to waste.