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F o c u s o n I M O

International Maritime Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)20 7735 7611 Fax: +44 (0)20 7587 3210

Contacts: Lee Adamson Senior External Relations Officer; Natasha Brown External Relations OfficerE-mail: media@imo.org Web site: www.imo.org

These documents are for background information. Please refer to the website www.imo.org for up-to-date information.

December 1996

Cutting red tape IMO and the facilitation of maritime travel and transport

Introduction Most human activities are regulated, either by precedent, convention or regulation. Most regulations areessential - but sometimes they come to be regarded not only as unnecessary but as a positive burden onthe activities they are supposed to control. Few activities have been more subject to over-regulation thaninternational maritime transport.

This is partly because of the international nature of shipping: countries developed customs,immigration and other standards independently of each other and a ship visiting several countries during thecourse of a voyage could expect to be presented with numerous forms to fill in, often asking for exactlythe same information but in a slightly different way.

As shipping and trade developed, so did the paperwork involved until by the 1950s it was beingregarded not simply as an inconvenience but as a positive threat. The following account indicates the sortof problems that a shipmaster of the time might expect to encounter:

"Entering the port of XXX' from an international voyage the shipmaster heaves a sigh of relief on havingsafely accomplished the voyage and philosophically awaits the arrival of the harbour authorities. However,

besides the traditional glass of cheer normally provided, the port health, immigration and customs officers,the harbour master, harbour police, terminal representative and clerk, duly board the ship and demand ofour poor shipmaster no fewer than 109 pieces of paper, including nearly 50 separate documents, beforethey depart. Bills, lists, manifests, summaries, declarations and statements, and no passenger candisembark nor can any cargo or container be loaded or discharged until the correct forms have been

produced to the right person. Up to 12 copies of a single document are demanded and it is no use for ourshipmaster to inform the police that the immigration and customs officers have taken all his crew lists -they have to be given their own copies.

"However, our shipmaster is an expert paper shuffler and all goes well at the port of XXX'. Theship clears following the production of even more paper and turns south for YYY' where, he reflects withrelief, a mere 100 pieces of paper with a trivial 33 documents will be required. Regrettably the authoritiesat port YYY' refuse to accept any of the forms prepared for port XXX' since their format differs and the

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form filling is required all over again.

"All this is very humorous until the utter waste of labour is taken into account. `XXX' and `YYY'are merely given as examples, perhaps worse than most, but are indicative of the hundreds of man-hourswasted by a decreasing number of increasingly expensive staff in satisfying the burgeoning appetite of

bureaucrats throughout the world. Frequently through unfamiliarity with the documentation demanded inforeign ports, expensive delays occur, tides are lost and stevedores stand idle awaiting the march of paper."

Although meant to be amusing, this account would have been recognized for its veracity byanyone familiar with shipping in the 1950s. The actual number of separate documents required variedfrom port to port; yet the information sought was often identical. The number of copies required of someof these documents could often become excessive. To the variety of forms and the number of copiesrequired could be added other burdens such as local language translations, consular visa requirements,variations in document size and paper stock used and the necessity for authentication by the shipmaster ofthe information submitted.

A report 1 Merchant Shipping on a Sea of Red Tape compared the documentary requirementsand procedures associated with international shipping with those related to the international airline industryand made it clear that merchant ships were foundering in self-inflicted bureaucracy. Analysis showed thatwhereas only three or four documents were required of aircraft, ports frequently required no fewer than22, 32 or even 46 separate documents of a ship. The report concluded that:

The need to simplify ships' documents was urgent and the demands of individual Governments hadto be put into clear perspective with the overall welfare of merchant shipping.

The cost savings which could be achieved from simplification and standardization were significant

both to industry and to Governments and should be sufficient motivation to spur those concernedinto immediate action.

The experience of airlines since the establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) provides a pattern for similar action by the shipping industry and Governments withinIMO.

In the final analysis, ship documentation simplification is the responsibility of Governments, andtheir co-operation is essential if the outcome is to be successful.

The report recommended that all possible efforts should be directed towards intergovernmental

action, preferably through IMO, which had met for the first time just a few weeks before the report was published. It revealed a great need to eliminate duplicative forms and to simplify, unify and standardize theremaining maritime documents. The report defined the various tasks as:

* Simplification - the process whereby superfluous data and unnecessary documents are eliminated or atleast modified.

1 * Prepared by the U.S. Pacific Coast shipping industry in co-operation with the School of World Business, SanFrancisco State College, California, 1 April 1959.

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* Unification - the combining of several similar documents whenever possible.

* Standardization - the development of definite size, format and language for documents designed for aspecific purpose and use, and their general acceptance by and use throughout the industry.

The Facilitation Convention The problems outlined in the 1959 report, if anything, grew worse over the next few years and by the early1960s the maritime nations had decided that the situation could not be allowed to deteriorate further.International action was called for and to achieve it Governments turned to IMO.

In 1961 the 2nd IMO Assembly adopted resolution A.29(II) which recommended that IMO takeup the matter. An Expert Group was convened which recommended that an international convention beadopted to assist the facilitation of international maritime traffic. In October 1963 the 3rd IMO Assemblyadopted resolution A.63 (III) which approved the report of Expert Group and in particular recommendedthat a convention be drafted which would be considered for adoption at a conference to be held under

IMO2

auspices in the spring of 1965. The conference duly took place and the Convention on Facilitation ofInternational Maritime Traffic (FAL), 1965 was adopted on 9 April.

Its purpose is summed up in the foreword, which says: "The Convention was originally developedto meet growing international concern about excessive documents required for merchant shipping.Traditionally, large numbers of documents are required by customs, immigration, health and other publicauthorities pertaining to the ship, its crew and passengers, baggage, cargo and mail. Unnecessary

paperwork is a problem in most industries, but the potential for red tape is probably greater in shipping thanin other industries, because of its international nature and the traditional acceptance of formalities and

procedures.

"The Convention emphasizes the importance of facilitating maritime traffic and demonstrates whyauthorities and operators concerned with documents should adopt the standardized documentation systemdeveloped by IMO and recommended by its Assembly for world-wide use."

The Convention is a "co-operative" treaty whereby Contracting Parties undertake to bring aboutuniformity and simplicity in the facilitation of international maritime traffic. It entered into force on 5 March1967 and outlines general principles relating to international maritime facilitation.

The Conference concluded that formalities, documentary requirements and procedures on thearrival and departure of ships should be simplified and, in particular, that public authorities should notrequire for retention any declaration other than the eight listed in Standard 2.1 (see below).

The Conference agreed that normally public authorities should keep the number of individual itemsof information on a small number of standardized declarations to a minimum but that this would not

preclude Governments from requiring further documents or information, as necessary in cases ofsuspected fraud or to deal with matters endangering public order, security or health, or to prevent theintroduction or spread of diseases or pests.

It was accepted that Governments would continue to require for inspection, as opposed toretention, ships' certificates relating to registry, tonnage measurement, safe manning and similar matters

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Until 1982 IMO was known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO).

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and that the Convention should not be interpreted as preventing Governments from granting wider facilitiesto international shipping. The Convention's provisions apply to all ships, except ships of war and pleasureyachts.

The Conference invited Governments to adjust their national legislation when practicable and, to

this effect, drafted international standards to facilitate their incorporation into national legislation.

Contracting Governments to the Convention agree to adopt appropriate measures to:

1. facilitate international maritime traffic;

2. prevent unnecessary delays to ships, their crews, passengers and cargoes;

3. secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in formalities, documentaryrequirements and procedures; and

4. keep to a minimum any alterations needed to meet special national requirements.

These measures should be practical and no less favourable than those applied to other means ofinternational transport.

Standards and recommended practices In its Annex, the Convention contains "Standards" and "Recommended Practices" on formalities,documentary requirements and procedures which should be applied on arrival, stay and departure to theship itself, and to its crew, passengers, baggage and cargo. The Convention defines standards asinternationally-agreed measures which are "necessary and practicable in order to facilitate internationalmaritime traffic" and recommended practices as measures the application of which is "desirable".

The Convention provides that any Contracting Government which finds it impracticable to complywith any international standard, or deems it necessary to adopt differing regulations, must inform theSecretary-General of IMO of the "differences" between its own practices and the standards in question.The same procedure applies to new or amended standards.

In the case of recommended practices, Contracting Governments are urged to adjust their lawsaccordingly but are only required to notify the Secretary-General when they have brought their ownformalities, documentary requirements and procedures into full accord.

This flexible concept of standards and recommended practices, coupled with the other provisions,

allows continuing progress to be made towards the formulation and adoption of uniform measures in thefacilitation of international maritime traffic.

The IMO Standardized Forms (FAL 1-6) Standard 2.1 lists the eight documents which public authorities can demand of a ship and recommends themaximum information and number of copies which should be required. IMO has developed StandardizedForms for six of these documents. They are the:

IMO general declaration

cargo declaration

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ship's stores declaration

crew's effects declaration

crew list passenger list.

The other two documents are required under the Universal Postal Convention and theInternational Health Regulations.

The general declaration, cargo declaration, crew list and passenger list constitute the maximuminformation necessary. The ship's stores declaration and crew's effects declaration incorporate the agreedessential minimum information requirements.

Benefits of the Convention and the model forms The adoption of the Convention was an important step, but the next step was to encourage as many

Governments as possible to ratify it. IMO prepared a document which lists the various advantages to begained from doing so. They are:

1 General

* A standardized rapid system of clearing ships inwards and outwards with easy completion ofclearance documents in advance of the arrival of the ship eliminates delay and contributes to aquick turn-around.

* Minimization of passenger clearance requirements reduces dock-side congestion and eliminatesthe need for correspondingly larger facilities.

* Easy reproduction on small inexpensive machines by shipboard or shore-based personnel of thesimplified standardized documents reduces filing and storage space requirements.

* The uniform layout makes the use of Automatic Data Processing (ADP) techniques possible.

2 To governments

* Reduction of the administrative burden and better utilization of personnel in customs and other public authorities is achieved by eliminating non-essential documents and information.

* Formalities are no more onerous than those of competing ports.

* Governments have the benefit of forms designed by international experts. Simple, well-designedforms make for more efficient and less-expensive administration and help increase port throughput

by preventing unnecessary delay to ships, passengers and cargoes.

* National forms which follow an international model are more readily understood by ships' mastersand, therefore, more likely to be correctly completed. Language difficulties are minimized.

* The uniform position of similar items of information on each form makes it easier to check thedocuments and extract the required information.

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3 To shipowners

* General benefits derive from the acceptance of the principle that formalities and procedures inrespect of maritime traffic should be no more onerous than those for other modes of transport.

* Fewer and simpler forms need to be completed. Less information is required and less work is

therefore involved.

* If no changes are foreseen with regard to crews, ship stores or passengers during the voyage orany part of it, identical forms for several ports can be completed at the same time. In suchcircumstances the same forms can be submitted both on arrival and on departure.

* The ship's manifest and cargo declaration can be completed in one run, thus keeping down costsand reducing the possibility of errors.

* The uniform position of information makes typing easier and contributes to quicker familiarizationof new personnel with document processing. It also facilitates the use of ADP.

4 To shippers

* The enhanced efficiency of clearing ships and cargo saves time and expense.

* The use of standardized commercial documents, e.g. bills of lading, simplifies the production ofdocuments.

* Cargoes awaiting shipment or collection are exposed for a shorter time to the risk of damage or pilfering within port facilities.

* The utilization of containers and pallets is improved.

* It becomes possible to utilize documents produced by ADP techniques.

* Requirements for authentication of documents are simplified.

* Time savings reduce the charges for services rendered by public authorities outside regularworking hours.

Although many countries have benefited from applying the principles of the Convention and usingthe Standardized Forms, IMO strongly emphasizes that they would benefit still further, as would all others,

if the Convention were ratified and the forms were adopted world-wide. Acceptance and use of theinternational standardized shipping documents is regarded as the basis of effective facilitation of maritimetraffic. In view of these extensive benefits and to further encourage adoption of the Convention, IMO hasrecommended that:

* Governments which have not yet accepted the Convention should consider doing so as soon as practicable.

* Governments which cannot accept the Convention at present should nevertheless examine the possibilities of simplifying and reducing their legislative and documentary requirements respecting thearrival, stay and departure of ships and of using forms based on the IMO Model.

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* Governments should encourage universal adoption of the Standardized forms and the highest possibledegree of uniformity in documentary requirements and procedures by keeping to a minimum anyalterations needed to meet their national requirements.

* Governments should create national and, if necessary, regional facilitation committees consisting of

representatives of governmental and commercial sectors for the purpose of developing facilitationmeasures.

IMO also recognizes that the shipping industry's co-operation is essential if the benefits of thesefacilitation efforts are to be realized. It is hoped that operators and masters might be made aware of theadvantages of facilitation and, with the assistance of their port agents, might press for the earlyreplacement of national forms by internationally standardized forms.

The 1973 amendments Despite its value, the Facilitation Convention, like any other international treaty, needs to be kept up todate. Unfortunately, the amendment procedure incorporated into the Convention made this extremely

difficult. To enter into force an amendment had to be accepted by two-thirds of the Contracting Parties.But, as the number of Contracting Parties increased, so did the number required to reach the two-thirdstarget. It became clear that amendments adopted under this procedure would take so long to meetrequirements for entry into force that the amendments themselves might be out of date by the time theydid so.

This problem was common to a number of other IMO instruments and to overcome it a newamendment procedure known as 'tacit acceptance' was devised under which amendments to a conventionautomatically enter into force on a predetermined date unless they are rejected by a specified number ofContracting Parties.

In 1973 an amendment was adopted to introduce this procedure into the Facilitation Convention.However, the amendment was bound by the original amendment procedure and it did not finally enter intoforce until 1984 (incidentally proving just how necessary the amendment was).

While this amendment was going through the acceptance procedure, there was very little for theFacilitation Committee to do. This enforced delay had damaging effect on IMO's work in the facilitationarea and, after the 14th session in 1981, the Committee did not meet again until 1984. When it resumedwork the Committee's greatest priority was to prepare a package of amendments to the Convention. TheCommittee report says that many of these were "most urgent if the Convention is to reflect even current

practice..."

The amendments were adopted at a conference held in March 1986, during the course of theCommittee's 16th session.

The 1986 amendments One of the main purposes of the amendments was to permit the use of automatic data processing (ADP)and other modern communications techniques, which had developed rapidly during the preceding years.They entered into force on 1 October 1986 and also made it possible for the shipping world to make use ofanother development known as electronic data interchange (EDI). This is basically a means of enablingcomputers to talk directly to each other. Because modern business transactions were increasingly beingcomputerized this had a number of advantages.

It increased business efficiency - since the number of keying-in operations was reduced, so was

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the number of errors. This meant economies on staff - and even on telephone calls. According to onereport in 1990, by using EDI a company based in the City of London saved 2 million on phone calls thatwere previously needed to chase up incorrect orders.

EDI also meant that paper work can be reduced and so can filing, meaning a further saving on

the space occupied by filing cabinets. The supporters of EDI say that it also offers users greater flexibility,quicker access to information and considerable customer appeal.

Despite this, EDI did not conquer the trading world quite as quickly as some prophets forecast.One reason was the lack of a common language or standards, which are necessary if computers are tocommunicate directly. Many banks and other institutions developed their own standards, but these werenot compatible and smaller enterprises had no obvious standards to turn to.

In 1987, however, a major turning point came when a meeting organized by the United Nationsagreed on a standard known as EDIFACT, which meant that, for the first time, the world had a universalcomputer language.

Since then, many shipping companies and others in the industry have adopted EDI, usingEDIFACT and in 1989 the European customs authorities also agreed to accept paperless trading, withEDIFACT as the standard. This was important to shipping, because much of the paperwork involved inmaritime trade is for customs purposes.

Its value was shown in June 1990 when a Soviet ferry, the Ilich , entered Stockholm after whatwas otherwise a routine voyage from St. Petersburg. What made this one exceptional was that, for thefirst time in shipping history, EDI was used to despatch all necessary customs information to the portauthorities.

The Ilich prepared this information on IMO's standard FAL forms. It was then sent to Stockholmvia the satellite system operated by the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT), whichwas established by IMO in the 1970s. The information consisted of 14 A4 pages and took just 2 minutes,costing only US$8 to transmit. INMARSAT estimates that it would have taken 16 minutes and US$180 tosend by telex and 8 minutes and US$90 to send by fax.

The biggest advantage of using EDI in this way, however, is the saving in time spent in port. Thiscan sometimes amount to several hours, all of which costs the shipowner money and keeps one of the

port's berths occupied unnecessarily.

The 1987 amendments

The amendments, which entered into force on 1 January 1989, include the upgrading of a number ofrecommended practices to standards. Standard 2.3.4 requires public authorities to accept a cargomanifest in place of the Cargo Declaration. Standard 2.6.1 simplifies the contents of the Crew List.

Other amendments are designed to facilitate the arrival and departure of ships engaged in disasterrelief work, pollution combating operations and similar activities where speed is especially important.

Other matters The Facilitation Committee also turned its attention to a number of other matters which are of concern toMember Governments.

Drug Smuggling

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Elderly and disabled passengers In August 1989 another circular was sent out by the FAL Committee dealing with the access to marine

passenger terminals for elderly and disabled passengers.

It points out that as many as 10 per cent of the world's population can be categorized as disabled,

many of them elderly. This proportion is likely to rise with the progressive ageing of the world population.

The circular summarizes the work done in this area by the United Nations and especially theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It then goes on to list some of the difficultiesencountered by the elderly and disabled at marine passenger terminals and on board ships. They include:

Transportation: public transport accessible to disabled persons is rarely available for travel to and from ports. The circular then describes some of the ways in which this situation can be improved.

Parking facilities and access: disabled persons may experience difficulties in moving to and from theterminal building. Guidance is given on the need for suitable parking facilities and barrier-free access.

Movement within the terminal: stairs, narrow corridors and doors can all make it difficult for the elderlyand disabled to move about. The circular comments on these and other difficulties and suggests how theymay be avoided.

Communications aspects and the training of staff: some forms of disability, such as hearing and visiondifficulties are less well understood than physical impairments. The absence of staff properly trained todeal with these difficulties can create extra problems. The circular outlines measures that can be taken toovercome some of these problems, for example by ensuring that all visual instructions are clearly displayedand that important information is communicated to those with impaired hearing.

HIV screening In October 1988 the IMO Assembly adopted resolution A.639 (16) which deals with the undesirability ofhuman immune deficiency virus (HIV) screening of crews and passengers of ships. It backs up actionstaken by other United Nations bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the WorldHealth Organization (WHO).

It notes that an increasing number of countries require certificates to testify that the bearer is notinfected with the acquired-immune-deficiency-syndrome (AIDS) virus. It points out that this practicewould not only be difficult to implement but would not be able under any circumstances to prevent thespread of HIV infections. Screening for HIV would divert resources away from other measures tocombat AIDS. The resolution recommends Member Governments not to introduce HIV screening while

those who have already done so are recommended to reconsider other measures.

The May 1990 amendments In May 1990 many of these matters were given further force when the Facilitation Committee adopted anumber of amendments to the FAL Convention. These entered into force, under tacit acceptance, on 1September 1991.

Several of the Convention's recommended practices were revised and others added. They dealwith drug trafficking and the problems of the disabled and elderly while a new section was added dealingwith the establishment of national facilitation committees.

Other subjects covered by the amendments include stowaways and the traffic flow arrangements.

The amendments detail actions to be taken when a stowaway is found to have inadequate documents.

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They also encourage smooth traffic flow within ports in various ways, for example by simplifyingclearance procedures - the amendments recommend that inspections of baggage of departing passengersshould be waived wherever possible.

Graphical symbols In addition to continuing its efforts to remove red tape, IMO is trying to make international maritime tradeand passenger travel easier and more efficient.

The Organization has developed a range of graphical symbols and signs for use at marineterminals and on board ship. These have the advantage over conventionally written signs in that they donot have to be translated and are therefore comprehensible to people of all nationalities. The symbolsdeveloped for on board ship are concerned with life-saving appliances and arrangements and fire-fighting.The newly-developed signs and symbols for use at marine terminals have been included in a publication

produced by IMO and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Encouraging facilitation One of the most important activities of the Facilitation Committee is to encourage Governments to acceptthe FAL Convention and to implement its provisions. The establishment, under the 1990 amendments tothe FAL Convention of national facilitation committees should therefore be regarded as a step in the rightdirection in this respect.

A video called "Cutting red tape" has been produced (in English, French and Spanish) and copieswere made available free of charge of Member Governments.

During the 1980s, IMO held a series of seminars in different African countries which helped toexplain the benefits of facilitation to industry and Governments. Four of these seminars were held in the

Gambia, Benin, the Seychelles and Mauritius and the delegations of those countries reported to theFacilitation Committee that as a result they accepted the FAL Convention. Very few legal implicationshad been identified and no costs were involved. Similar events have been arranged in other parts of theworld, including 16 seminars in the Asia and Pacific region in 1996 and 1997.

A further proof of the growing importance of facilitation to the IMO Member States came in November 1991 when the IMO Assembly held its 17th session. Among other items it adopted a set ofamendments to the IMO Convention which will result in the institutionalizing of the FAL Committee.

When IMO was created in 1959 it had only one technical body, the Maritime Safety Committee.Since then the Organization has expanded its activities and the IMO Convention has been amended

accordingly, giving due status to committees dealing with the protection of the marine environment, legalmatters and technical co-operation. The November amendments will give similar status to the FALCommittee and its work.

The 1992 amendments Further progress towards improving the FAL Convention was made in 1992 when amendments to itsAnnex were adopted which entered into force on 1 September 1993. The amendments add a new sectiondealing with electronic data processing and EDI and other changes concerned private gift packages andtrade samples, consular formalities and fees, submission of pre-import information, clearance of specializedequipment; and falsified documents. Another group of amendments restructured the annex to theConvention, in order to harmonize it with the corresponding provisions of the ICAO Convention.

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The 1993 amendments In April the Committee adopted further amendments to the Annex which entered into force on 1 June1994.

One of these amendments was concerned with stowaways. It states that when a stowaway has

inadequate documents, public authorities should, whenever possible, issue a covering letter with a photograph of the stowaway and other important information. The letter, which should authorize the returnof the stowaway to his country of origin or the point where he commenced his journey, should be handedover "to the operator effecting the removal of the stowaway. This letter will include information required

by the authorities at transit points and/or the point of disembarkation."

The Committee agreed at its 23rd session in November 1994 that further action was needed. In1957 the International Convention Relating to Stowaways was adopted at a conference held in Brussels,

but it has never secured sufficient acceptances for entry into force and it is now unlikely ever to do so.The Committee agreed to set up a working group whose ultimate aim would be to prepare a resolution foradoption by the 20th IMO Assembly in 1997.

At its 24th session in January 1996 the Committee approved a FAL circular (FAL.2/Circ.43)containing guidelines on the allocation of responsibilities for the successful resolution of stowaway cases.

The guidelines state that this is difficult because of different national legislation in the variouscountries involved. Nevertheless, some basic principle can be applied generally.

Stowaways entering a country without the required documents are in general illegal immigrantsand decisions on how to deal with such situations are the prerogative of the countries concerned.Stowaway asylum seekers should be treated in compliance with international protection principles set outin relevant treaties.

The guidelines then advocate close co-operation between shipowners and port authorities. Wherenational legislation permits, national authorities should consider prosecuting stowaways concerning anydamage caused. Countries should permit the return of stowaways who are identified as being their citizensor who have a right of residence while the country where a stowaway originally embarked shouldnormally accept his or her return pending final case disposition.

The guidelines say that every effort should be made to avoid situations where a stowaway has to be detained on board a ship indefinitely.

The guidelines then go on to establish in greater detail the responsibilities of the master; the

shipowner or operator; the country of the first scheduled port of call after the discovery of the stowaway(the port of disembarkation); the country where the stowaway first boarded the ship; the stowaway'sapparent or claimed country of nationality; the flag State of the vessel; and any countries of transit duringrepatriation.

The Committee continued work on the draft Assembly resolution, which refers to the difficultiesencountered by masters and owners in disembarking stowaways from ships. It emphasizes the need forco-operation and states that "in normal circumstances, through such co-operation stowaways should, assoon as practicable, be removed from the ship and returned to the country of nationality-citizenship or tothe port of embarkation, or to any country which would accept the stowaway."

Smuggling of aliens

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The smuggling of aliens was becoming an important and controversial issue in the shipping industry by thisstage. Apart from the inconvenience caused to ship operators, port authorities and others there arehumanitarian issues involved and in November 1993 the IMO Assembly adopted a resolution prepared bythe FAL Committee (A.773(18)) which refers to the fact that "numerous incidents involving the smugglingof aliens aboard ships have resulted in sickness, disease and death of the individuals concerned."

The resolution invites Governments to co-operate in taking the action necessary to suppress thesmuggling of aliens. It outlines various procedures to be taken when alien smuggling is detected, but itemphasizes the humanitarian aspects, urging Governments which discover evidence that a ship is involvedin this practice to "ensure the safety and humanitarian handling of the persons on board and that anyactions taken with regard to the ship are environmentally sound."

The 1996 amendments The Committee also adopted a number of amendments to the FAL Convention which will enter into forceunder the Convention's "tacit acceptance" provisions on 1 May 1997.

The amendments affect standards and recommended practices contained in the Annex and dealwith the following subjects: the Passenger List; the establishment of national maritime transport facilitationcommittees; the development of procedures, including electronic data interchange (EDI), to allow for thesubmission of advance information to enable the use of selectivity techniques to facilitate customsclearance; and the declaration of the personal effects of cruise passengers.

New standards have been added concerning inadmissible persons; the obligations of shipowners totransport persons; and co-operation between Governments and shipowners to establish the validity of

passports and visas. A new recommended practice has been added on immigration pre-arrival clearance.

Ship/port interface

In December 1992 a Working Group on Strategy for Ship/Port Interface met for the first time. Themeeting was held in response to the Secretary-General's belief that a study needed to be carried out intothe work undertaken by IMO in the field of technical port activities. Since then the Working Group hasheld four meetings and from 1996 onwards will be operating as a working group of the FAL Committee.

The reasons for forming such a Working Group were summed up in resolution A.786(19), adopted by the Assembly in 1995. It recognizes the contribution that ports, as nodes in the transport chain, canmake towards the promotion of maritime safety, the protection of the marine environment and thefacilitation of maritime traffic and the need for IMO to address ship/port interface matters.

After emphasizing the need to avoid overlapping and duplication of effort in areas within the

competence of other international organizations, the resolution agrees that IMO should act as a forum to promote co-ordination between relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental internationalorganizations in consultative status on matters of concern arising from ship/port interface activities.

The resolution goes on to outline a programme of action, including the need to make an inventoryof the work done and being undertaken by IMO and other intergovernmental and non-governmentalinternational organizations; to identify subject areas requiring further consideration and to take any actiondeemed necessary to promote the above areas of activity.

Future activities The facilitation of international maritime trade is beneficial to everyone involved - yet there is no doubt that

it is a comparatively little-known aspect of IMO's work. IMO and the FAL Committee in particular have

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stressed the value to be derived from removing red tape and other restrictions on maritime trade and theOrganization has organized a series of seminars in different regions to demonstrate how beneficial thiswork can be.

During the 1980s an extensive programme of seminars was conducted in Africa and more

recently IMO, with the co-operation of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(ESCAP) and financial support from the Netherlands, has arranged a similar programme in South EastAsia.

Meanwhile, the FAL Committee continues its work on reviewing the FAL Convention itself, theuse of EDI for the clearance of ships, the harmonization of reporting formats, technical co-operation andso on. It is hoped that it will soon will see the conclusion of work on stowaways, at least as far as theadoption of the Assembly resolution is concerned, the compulsory availability of passenger lists andmethods of handling passengers with inadequate documents.

The SPI Working Group is working on the establishment and operation of reception facilities for

shipborne wastes, including funding mechanisms (this is being carried out under the supervision of theMarine Environment Protection Committee). Other subjects expected to be finalized during the yearinclude the revision of the IMO/ILO Guidelines on packing cargo in freight containers, other transport unitsand vehicles.

The Working Group also hopes to finish its work on model courses on cargo handling in port areas,emergency preparedness and response in port areas, the promotion of EDI in matters relating to portmanagement and the availability of adequate tug assistance.

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