Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III), 1st session, 14-18 July 2014

The draft guidelines will be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection committee (MEPC 67), in October 2014, for adoption. The MEPC was invited to decide on how to address matters related to sampling and whether indicative analysis could be used for verifying compliance or non-compliance with the convention standards.

The Sub-Committee agreed draft Guidelines for port State control officers related to the ISM Code, for consideration by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the MEPC, and as they deem necessary, the Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW), prior to  approval. 

Also agreed were draft Guidelines for port State control officers on certification of seafarers' rest hours based on the relevant provisions to the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, and manning requirements from the flag State, for referral to the HTW Sub-Committee for review and the MSC for approval. 

The Sub-Committee reviewed the analysis of the marine safety investigation report into the grounding and loss of the passenger ship Costa Concordia, carried out by the correspondence group on casualty analysis and reviewed by a working group during the session, and agreed that there was a need for comprehensive risk assessment, passage planning and position monitoring; effective bridge resource management; and the removal of distractions from the bridge.  

The analysis also showed there was also a need to consider protection of propulsion and electrical production compartments; the functional integrity of essential systems; improvement and redundancy of emergency power generation; detection and monitoring system interfacing with onboard stability computer; inclusion of inclinometer measurements within the voyage data recorder (VDR) data; more detailed assessment criteria for recognizing manning agencies; and to assign appropriately trained crew to emergency duties.

The findings will be brought to the attention of MSC 94, for input into the Committee’s long-term action plan on passenger ship safety.  

The Sub-Committee approved the Lessons Learned for Presentation to Seafarers, prepared by the correspondence group on casualty analysis. 

Meanwhile, the correspondence group on casualty analysis was re-established to continue its regular work, including reviewing casualty reports referred to the group, as well as to prepare a draft in-the-field job aid for investigators, taking into account relevant IMO instruments and the Marine Accident Investigators' International Forum (MAIIF) investigation manual.

 

The third Joint IMO/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Related Matters will be held at IMO Headquarters in 2015 (subject to agreement by the MSC and the MEPC).  

The Working Group would be expected to discuss all matters relating to IUU fishing, including port State control and implementation of IMO standards for fishing vessel safety. The last such meeting was held in 2007.  

Meanwhile, the Sub-Committee urged Member States to deposit an instrument in respect of the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 on the Implementation of the Provisions of the 1993 Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977, at their earliest convenience.

The Sub-Committee reviewed the analysis of consolidated audit summary reports (CASRs), based on the outcome of 59 audits under the IMO voluntary Member State Audit Scheme. The Audit Scheme will become mandatory from 1 January 2016, following the adoption of amendments to the relevant IMO treaties. 

The audits to date resulted in 550 findings (201 non-conformities and 349 observations) with references to conventions' requirements, where applicable, and 356 root causes reported by the audited Member States. The information presented covers audits of 52 Member States, (about 31% of the membership of the Organization), two Associate Members and five dependent territories, which represent 92.8% of the gross tonnage of the world fleet. 

The analysis of 33 audits containing root causes revealed that the main underlying causes, as reported by the audited Member States, were related to absence/lack of procedure/process/mechanism, absence/lack of national provisions, insufficient resources, lack of coordination among various entities, and absence/lack of training programmes.

The outcome from this review will be brought to the attention of the Committees 

The Sub-Committee agreed draft Guidelines for exemption of the survey and certification requirements under MARPOL Convention for unmanned non-self-propelled barges for submission to the MEPC. 

The Sub-Committee agreed a draft MSC-MEPC.5 circular on Unified interpretation on keel laying date for unified interpretation on keel laying date for fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) craft, for submission to MEPC 67 and MSC 94 for approval, to clarify that the term "the keels of which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction" should be interpreted as the date that the first structural reinforcement of the complete thickness of the approved hull laminate schedule is laid either in or on the mould.