Imo Correspondence Group News

The first edition of IBIA’s “Best practice guidance for suppliers for assuring the quality of bunkers delivered to ships” was welcomed by the 72nd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) last week, where it was agreed that it would be a good basis for the development of IMO guidance. For the past few years, an IMO Correspondence Group on Fuel oil quality (CG) has been working on developing draft guidance on best practice for assuring the quality of fuel oil delivered for use on board ships. The initial aim was to produce a trinity of such guidance documents: one for bunker purchasers/users; one for bunker suppliers; and one for Member States/coastal States.

As vessel fires have become more prevalent in the car/ro-ro passenger segment, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) examines these occurrences as the group voices its concerns and puts forward recommendations to mitigate the risks. The deadly fires aboard the ferries Norman Atlantic just before New Year 2014 and the Sorrento in April 2015 prompted an international response from the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) in May 2015. The number of fire incidents…

Anthropogenic (manmade) sound is creating havoc among marine mammals and other aquatic species. These creatures have very sensitive hearing, which they rely on to find food and mates and (for some) to communicate and navigate. Sound waves can travel much further and with much less loss of strength in water than in air. In pre-industrial times, the oceans were relatively quiet. Sailing ships generated almost no subsurface noise. A whale’s call could be heard by another whale hundreds of miles away in ambient conditions.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), together with the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds) and the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), is urging its Member States to ratify and implement a key compensation treaty covering the transport of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) by ship. The International Convention on Liability and compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious substances by Sea, 2010 (2010 HNS Convention), when in force, will provide a regime of liability and compensation for damage caused by HNS cargoes transported by sea, complementing existing regimes already in force for the transport of oil as cargo…

The e-Navigation Underway 2015 – North America conference will be hosted by The State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College from September 28 to 30 on the college’s Throggs Neck, N.Y. campus. The conference’s theme is: “Reducing Risk through E-Navigation,” which follows the pace of the IMO’s Correspondence Group on e-Navigation. The keynote speaker will be Joseph Trotti, CEO of AIG Global Marine and Aerospace, and Francis Zachariae, the new Secretary General of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and formerly the deputy director general of Danish Maritime Authority (DMA), will be the luncheon speaker on the conference’s final day. Other confirmed speakers include Tracy Murrell, Director Office of Marine Safety, U.S.

The world’s first ship to run on methanol will soon sail international waters after the fire risk assessment by SP Fire Research was approved. Methanol has long been handled with traditional fire protection in cargo pump-rooms on tankers, but a deeper understanding of the fuel called for a new approach to design fire safety. The Stena Germanica is a ro-pax ferry that brings vehicles and passengers across the Baltic Sea. This area is, together with the North Sea and the English Channel…

As proposed by INTERTANKO and its industry partners, the IMO has agreed to commence a review of the ballast water management system (BWMS) type approval guidelines (G8) and at the same time agreed not to penalise those owners who have already installed BWMS that are approved in accordance with the current approval guidelines. The agreement, which will be issued as an IMO MEPC Resolution, comes after a tireless effort by INTERTANKO and its industry partners to address key challenges associated with the implementation of the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC). The agreement to review and eventually revise the type approval…

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) says it supports the UK government’s call for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to bring forward its review of the availability of 0.50% sulphur fuel. As more and more locations declare ECA requirements, the latest being Hong Kong this week, the greater the demand for low sulphur fuel. IBIA considers that the shipping industry needs some definitive dates to plan implementations on board; the same information is required for the refining industry and the bunker sector. Uncertainty around dates is likely to delay crucial investment decisions and IBIA believes that the shipping and oil industries need clarity.

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) supports the UK government’s call for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to bring forward its review of the availability of 0.50% sulphur fuel. As more and more locations declare ECA requirements, the latest being Hong Kong this week, the greater the demand for low sulphur fuel. The shipping industry needs some definitive dates to plan implementations on board; the same information is required for the refining industry and the bunker sector.

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) held its 46th Committee meeting in Valletta, Malta, from May 20-24, 2013. The meeting was attended by members, the European Commission, EMSA, Montenegro, observers from the ILO, U.S. Coast Guard, Black Sea MoU, Caribbean MoU, Mediterranean MoU, Tokyo MoU and Vina del Mar Agreement. The Committee adopted amendments to the Memorandum to include the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 as a relevant instrument. Guidelines for Port State Control under this Convention were also agreed, providing practical guidance for Port State Control Officers to inspect ships starting August 20, 2013.