WORLD MARITIME DAY ISSUE NEW AIR POLLUTION RULES IN …€¦ · INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING - CARRIER OF...

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THE MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION WORLD MARITIME DAY ISSUE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING - CARRIER OF WORLD TRADE NEW AIR POLLUTION RULES IN FORCE OCTOBER CONFERENCE TO REVISE KEY SECURITY INSTRUMENTS ISSUE 3 . 2005

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T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION

WORLD MARITIME DAY ISSUEINTERNATIONAL SHIPPING - CARRIER OF WORLD TRADE

NEW AIR POLLUTION RULES IN FORCE

OCTOBER CONFERENCE TO REVISE KEY SECURITYINSTRUMENTS

I S S U E 3 . 2 0 0 5

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www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 3

IMO News • Issue 3 2005

Contents

The International MaritimeOrganization (IMO)4, Albert EmbankmentLondon SE1 7SRUKTel +44 (0)20 7735 7611Fax +44 (0)20 7587 3210Email (general enquiries)[email protected] Website www.imo.org

Managing EditorLee Adamson([email protected])

Assistant EditorNatasha Brown([email protected])

Editorial productionAubrey Botsford, Brian Starkey

AdvertisingHanna Moreton([email protected], tel +44 (0)20 7735 7611)

DistributionLesley Brooks([email protected])

IMO News is the magazine ofthe International MaritimeOrganization and isdistributed free of charge toqualified readers. Theopinions expressed are notnecessarily those of IMO andthe inclusion of anadvertisement implies noendorsement of any kind byIMO of the product or serviceadvertised. The contents maybe reproduced free of chargeon condition thatacknowledgement is given toIMO News.

Please allow at least tenweeks from receipt at IMO foradditions to, deletions from orchanges in the mailing list.

Copyright © IMO 2005

Printed by Unwin Brothers Ltd

N053E

Our theme for World Maritime Day 2005celebrates international shipping’s role

as the carrier of world trade

IMO at work

34 Portraits of former IMO Secretaries-General unveiled

36 Secretary-General lays foundation for LNG training in Egypt; IMO, Chile extend technical co-operation understanding; Greek owners to give massiveboost to tsunami fund

37 Mitropoulos’ visit confirms continued Russian support for IMO initiatives;Korea gives security fund boost; IMO assists Ghana port reception facilityproject

38 Strait security on Malaysia agenda; IMO helps children speak out on marineenvironment at world summit; IMO to launch maritime bravery award;Japanese benefactor addresses maritime human resources

Feature

22 World Maritime Day 2005 International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade

Intelligence

6 New rules to reduce emissions from ships enter into force

7 Revised international ship sewage regulations enter into force

8 Ban on dumping radioactive wastes now in forceOctober Conference to revise key security instrumentsNew members join IMO

Opinion

4 International Shipping - Carrier of World TradeSecretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos

From the meetings

10 Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) 80th session

15 Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC) 55th session

17 Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV) 51st session

19 Facilitation Committee (FAL) 32nd session

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4 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

International shipping – carrier ofWorld Trade

Message fromthe Secretary-GeneralMr. Efthimios Mitropoulos

The history of shipping is a glorious and proudone. There is no doubt, for example, that themagnificent square riggers of the era of sail or

the early 20th century’s prestigious ocean liners couldstir the hearts of all those that beheld them. But theships of today are just as worthy of our admiration, forshipping today is in another truly golden age. Shipshave never been so technically advanced, never beenas sophisticated, never been more immense, nevercarried so much cargo, never been safer and neverbeen so environmentally-friendly as they are today.

Mammoth containerships nudging the 10,000 TEUbarrier yet still capable of 25 knot operating speeds;huge oil tankers and bulk carriers that carry vastquantities of fuel, grain and other commodities aroundour planet economically, safely and cleanly; thecomplex and highly specialized workhorses of theoffshore industry; and the wonderful giants of thepassenger ship world are all worthy of our greatestadmiration. I remarked, at the time of the unveiling ofthe iconic Queen Mary 2 to the sounds of the "Ode toJoy" from Beethoven’s 9th symphony, what a happycombination it was of two of the great achievements ofmankind; and ships such as these incorporate andcombine the finest examples of naval architecture,marine engineering, function and system integrationand technical skill.

In shipping today we can see many marvels of state-of-the-art engineering and technology that deserve to beranked alongside the very finest achievements of ourglobal infrastructure. We all marvel at the wonders ofthe modern world – skyscrapers, bridges, dams, shipcanals, tunnels and so on. Although they all deserveour admiration, there should be no question thattoday’s finest ships are also worthy of the sort ofrecognition usually reserved for the great icons ofland-based civil engineering – with one substantialdifference in favour of the former: while skyscrapers,bridges, dams et al are static structures designed towithstand the elements coming to them, the veryessence of marine vehicles sends them out to sea toface the elements at full force, alone in the vastness ofthe ocean. It is, therefore, only fair that all those whoapply their skills in the complicated process that takesships from concept to delivery, and thereafter throughtheir entire life, should be commended for their vision,their tenacity, their dedication and the sheer quality oftheir work.

I believe we should celebrate this excellence inshipping far more often than we do and, in selectingthe theme for World Maritime Day 2005 –International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade – wesincerely hoped that we (Governments, organizations,industry and all other stakeholders) would be able to

draw attention to the vital role that shipping plays inunderpinning international commerce and the worldeconomy as the most efficient, safe andenvironmentally friendly method of transportinggoods around the globe. We live in a global societywhich is supported by a global economy – and thateconomy simply could not function if it were not forships and the shipping industry.

On World Maritime Day, let us also celebrate not onlythe vital contribution that ships and shipping make tothe prosperity and well-being of us all but also themen and women who take on the onerous task ofoperating them. Given the enormous responsibilitythose in command have both for the very lives ofthose who serve with them and for the environment,not to mention the commercial success of theenterprise in which they are engaged, it requires avery special kind of person to take up the challenge ofa seafaring career – especially these days when ships,because of their capacity to carry passengers in theirthousands and also because of their size, enablingthem to carry cargoes in hundreds of thousands oftons, have the potential to cause enormous loss of lifeor environmental catastrophes of unimaginabledimensions. We should, therefore, never forget ourcollective responsibility to help promote the notion ofseafaring as a viable and attractive career for people ofthe highest calibre, now and in the future.

The sea can be an unforgiving environment and, overthe centuries, its rigours have encouraged seafarers tobuild a tradition of selfless endeavour and of highregard for others, particularly those who findthemselves in difficulty or distress. It is a tradition thatpersists today – indeed IMO is to establish a specialaward for courage at sea, to recognize those who, atthe risk of losing their own life, commit acts ofextreme bravery to rescue persons in distress at seaor to prevent catastrophic pollution of the environmentthus exhibiting virtues of self sacrifice in line with thehighest traditions at sea and the humanitarian aspectof shipping. This year, we have also witnessed thehumanitarian aspect of shipping at work in thetremendous response of the maritime community andindustries, both in kind and in direct financial terms,to the dreadful Boxing Day tsunami tragedy.

It may seem obvious to say that we live in a globalworld, and it is certainly true that international tradeamong all the nations and regions of the world isnothing new. But there is no doubt that we have nowentered a new era of global interdependence fromwhich there can be no turning back.

Of course, there was a time when, for any givencommunity, the most important raw materials, the

Opinion

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Opinion

www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 5

most important products and the mostimportant markets were essentially local.But, as interaction between communitiesgrew, trade developed and regionalspecialities, often founded on proximity toparticular raw materials or on saleable skill-sets that had been developed over time,began to emerge.

Eventually, the great seaborne trades becameestablished: coal from Australia, SouthernAfrica and North America to Europe and theFar East; grain from North and SouthAmerica to Asia, Africa and the Far East; ironore from South America and Australia toEurope and the Far East; oil from the MiddleEast, West Africa, South America and theCaribbean to Europe, North America andAsia; and now we must add to this listcontainerized manufactures from China,Japan and South-east Asia to the consumermarkets of the western world. Global tradehas effectively permitted an enormousvariety of resources to be more widelyaccessible and has thus facilitated thewidespread distribution of our planet’scommon wealth.

Today, international trade has evolved to thepoint where almost no nation can be fullyself-sufficient. Every country is involved, atone level or another, in the process of sellingwhat it produces and acquiring what it lacks.Were they dependent only on their domesticresources, some nations might find theirshortcomings would weigh heavily indeed.

Global trade has fostered an interdependencyand inter-connectivity between peoples whowould previously have considered themselvescompletely unconnected. The potentialbenefits are clear: growth can be acceleratedand prosperity more widespread; skills andtechnology can be more evenly dispersed,and both individuals and countries can takeadvantage of previously unimaginedeconomic opportunities.

Shipping has always provided the only reallycost-effective method of bulk transport overany great distance, and the development ofshipping and the establishment of a globalsystem of trade have moved forwardtogether, hand-in-hand. Those with access tonatural resources; those with the ability toconvert those resources into useful productsfor the good of mankind; and those with a

requirement and the wherewithal to utilizeand consume those end products are alljoined by the common thread of shipping.The eternal triangle of producers,manufacturers and markets are broughttogether through shipping. This has alwaysbeen the case and will remain so for theforeseeable future.

More than 90 per cent of global trade iscarried by sea. The latest complete annualfigures from the United Nations Conferenceon Trade and Development show thatshipping accounted for a staggering 24,589billion ton-miles in 2003, a figure thatcontinues to increase year on year.

In the context of a global economy, thecontribution made by shipping as a majorindustry in its own right is also verysignificant, and increasingly so for thedeveloping world. Maritime activity alreadyprovides an important source of income tomany developing countries. Indeed,developing countries now lead the world insome of shipping’s most important ancillarybusinesses, including the registration ofships, the supply of sea-going manpower andship recycling. They also play a significantpart in shipowning and operating,shipbuilding and repair and port services,among others.

There can be no doubt that transport andcommunication are crucial for sustainabledevelopment in the global environment. If thebenefits of globalization are to be evenlyspread, the developing countries must beable to play a full and active part in thedistribution system. IMO’s extensiveprogramme of technical co-operationprovides a valuable service in terms oftraining and capacity building in these newlyemerging maritime powers.

Of course, shipping must present itself as asustainable activity conscious of the need toaddress both sides of a finely balancedequation. If shipping were to consumeenvironmental capital (in the form ofpollution) or social capital (by being aninherently unsafe activity that cost thousandsof lives each year) or economic capital(perhaps through enormous insurancepremiums and massive claims) to a greaterextent than its overall positive contribution,then clearly it could not be considered

“sustainable”. However, in this respect, Ithink shipping has an excellent record,indeed one which we should be proud of andabout which we should be far less reticent.

Accidents do, of course, unfortunatelyhappen from time to time and, when they do,they may result in loss of life and damage tothe environment. It is my firm contention thatevery occasion in which a ship – any ship –becomes involved in a pollution incident or amajor casualty must be set against theliterally billions of trouble-free, clean andeconomically efficient ton-miles that shippingachieves every day, and all the consequentbenefits that accrue from this activity.

It is a pity, although perhaps inevitable in aworld where good news is no news, that it isthe accidents which tend to make theheadlines and inform public opinion. An oiltanker, for example, can be either a menacingpollution accident waiting to happen, filled tothe brim with a scarce natural resource thatwe should be preserving, not plundering; or,a modern, clean, safe and efficient carrier ofthe vital energy resource that provides thepower we need in order to enjoy the comfortand living standards we expect from life inthe 21st century - it just depends on whichway you look at it.

What tends to be overlooked is that vastsupplies of seaborne oil are needed everyday, literally to fuel the lives and lifestyles wehave become accustomed to. The real pictureis revealed in industry figures which showthat 60 per cent of the annual world oilconsumption of 3.6 billion tonnes istransported by sea and, of this, 99.9997 percent is delivered safely.

To a considerable extent, this success storyshould be attributed to the comprehensiveframework of rules, regulations andstandards developed, over many years,mainly by IMO, through internationalcollaboration among its Members and withfull industry participation – it is thanks to theOrganization’s outcomes that those trouble-free ton-miles are made possible. Just aboutevery technical aspect of shipping is coveredby an IMO measure, from the drawing boardto scrapyard.

What is more, it is effective, too. Everystatistical indicator suggests that shipping is

Continued on page 38

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New rules to reduce emissionsfrom ships enter into force

International regulations to control harmfulemissions from ships’ exhausts entered into

force on 19 May 2005. The Regulations for thePrevention of Air Pollution from Ships arecontained in Annex VI of the MARPOL Conventionand were adopted in the 1997 Protocol to thatConvention.

The Annex VI regulations set limits on sulphuroxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissionsfrom ship exhausts and prohibit deliberateemissions of ozone-depleting substances.

The Annex includes a global cap of 4.5 percent bymass (% m/m) on the sulphur content of fuel oiland calls on IMO to monitor the worldwideaverage sulphur content of fuel once the Protocolcomes into force.

IMO has been monitoring the worldwide averagesulphur content of residual fuel supplied for use onboard ships since 1999 following the adoption ofresolution MEPC.82(43) Guidelines for monitoringthe world wide average sulphur content of residualfuel supplied for use on board ships. The monitoringis based on bunker reports around the worldrepresenting more than 60 per cent of all bunkersdelivered to ships. The worldwide average for 2004has been calculated to be 2.67% m/m sulphurcontent. This figure has been almost constant since1999 - the variation is less than +/- 0.02 % m/m.

The Annex contains provisions allowing for special“SOx Emission Control Areas” (SECAs) to beestablished with more stringent controls on sulphuremissions. In these areas, the sulphur content offuel oil used onboard ships must not exceed 1.5%m/m. Alternatively, ships must fit an exhaust gas

cleaning system or use other methods to limit SOxemissions. The regulation requires such alternativemethods to be approved by the Flag StateAdministration. Draft Guidelines on on-board exhaustgas-SOx cleaning systems have been developed.

The Baltic Sea Area is designated as a SECA in theProtocol. However, the regulation allows for a 12-month period from the date of entry into forcebefore the limits in a SECA can be enforced.

Annex VI also prohibits deliberate emissions ofozone-depleting substances, which include halonsand chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Newinstallations, such as refrigeration and fire-fightingsystems, containing ozone-depleting substances,are prohibited on all ships, but new installationscontaining hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)are permitted until 1 January 2020.

The Annex also sets limits on emissions ofnitrogen oxides from diesel engines. A mandatoryNOx Technical Code establishes procedures forthe testing, survey and certification of marinediesel engines which will enable enginemanufacturers, shipowners and Administrations toensure that all applicable marine diesel enginescomply with the relevant limiting emission valuesof NOx as specified in regulation 13 of Annex VI.

The Annex also prohibits the incineration aboardship of certain products, such as contaminatedpackaging materials and polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs), which have previously been used in anumber of industrial materials.

In November 2003, IMO adopted resolutionA.963(23) IMO Policies and practices related to thereduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

The MEPC is developingdraft Guidelines on theCO2 Indexing Schemeand has recognized thatIMO guidelines ongreenhouse gasemissions have toaddress all sixgreenhouse gasescovered by the KyotoProtocol: carbon dioxide(CO2); methane (CH4);nitrous oxide (N2O);hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs);perfluorocarbons(PFCs); and sulphurhexafluoride (SF6).

Intelligence

Regulations now in force willreduce the harmful effect of ships’exhausts on the atmosphere(Edwards Ship Photos)

6 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

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Intelligence

Revised international regulations for theprevention of pollution of the sea by

sewage from ships (revised MARPOL AnnexIV, adopted by resolution MEPC.115(51)) willenter into force on 1 August 2005.

The regulations are important because thedischarge of raw sewage into the sea can createa health hazard and, in coastal sea areas, can

Revised international ship sewageregulations enter into force

also lead to a depletion of oxygen in the waterand visual pollution - a particular problem forcountries with large tourist industries. Undercurrent thinking it is assumed that the oceansare capable of assimilating and dealing withraw sewage through natural bacterial actionand the regulations, therefore, prohibit thedischarge of sewage by ships within a specified

distance of the nearest land, unless theyhave an approved sewage treatmentplant or system in operation.

The revised MARPOL Annex IV willapply to new and existing ships of 400gross tonnage and above or ships whichare certified to carry more than 15persons, engaged in internationalvoyages.

Existing ships will be required tocomply with the provisions by 27September 2008 (five years after the

entry into force of MARPOL Annex IV). New sewage regulations will have a significant impact onpassenger vessels

The Annex requires ships to be equippedwith either a sewage treatment plant, asewage comminuting and disinfecting systemor a sewage holding tank.

The discharge of sewage into the sea will beprohibited at a distance of 12 nautical miles,or less, from the nearest land. Exceptionsapply when the ship has an approved sewagetreatment plant in operation or whendischarging comminuted and disinfectedsewage using an approved system at adistance of more than three nautical milesfrom the nearest land.

When a Party to Annex IV requires shipsunder its jurisdiction, i.e. ships under its flag,and other ships operating in its waters, tocomply with the discharge requirements,then it shall ensure adequate facilities atports and terminals for the reception ofsewage are provided.

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8 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Intelligence

The Russian Federation has officiallyaccepted the 1993 ban on the dumping of

radioactive wastes under the 1972 LondonConvention. The Government of the RussianFederation informed the Secretary-General ofIMO on 17 May 2005 that it had accepted theban as contained in the amendments to theConvention under Resolution LC.51(16). As aresult, twelve years after its adoption, theprohibition of the disposal of radioactivewastes at sea is finally in force for allContracting Parties to the LondonConvention, of which there are currently 81.

The Convention on the Prevention of MarinePollution by Dumping of Wastes and OtherMatter 1972, or “London Convention” is one ofthe oldest global conventions protecting themarine environment from human activities. It

has been in force since 1975. Its objective is topromote the effective control of all sources ofmarine pollution and to take all practicablesteps to prevent pollution of the sea by thedumping of wastes from vessels, aircraft,platforms or other man-made structures.

The prohibition of dumping high-levelradioactive wastes, in force since 1975, wasextended in 1993 to cover all radioactivewastes, through the adoption of ResolutionLC.51(16). These legally binding provisionsentered into force on 20 February 1994 for allContracting Parties to the Convention, exceptthe Russian Federation which, on 18February 1994, issued a declaration of non-acceptance of this resolution. In itsdeclaration, the Russian Federation madeclear, however, that it would “continue to

endeavour to ensure that the sea is notpolluted by the dumping of wastes and othermatter, the prevention of which is the objectof the provisions contained in ResolutionLC.51(16)”.

In the 1990s the Russian Federationreportedly had insufficient facilities to storeand process the low-level liquid radioactivewastes generated by its Northern and Pacificnuclear submarine and icebreaker fleets. Thefacilities were upgraded and expanded withassistance from Japan, Finland, Norway andthe United States. In recent years, theRussian Federation also gave priority to theimplementation of its National ManagementPlan addressing radioactive wastes from allsources before formally accepting the ban ondumping at sea.

Radioactive waste disposal bannow in force

October Conference to revise keysecurity instruments

ADiplomatic Conference on the Revisionof the 1988 Convention and Protocol for

the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against theSafety of Maritime Navigation and its relatedProtocol on the safety of fixed platforms (theSUA Treaties) is to be held at IMOHeadquarters in London from 10 to 14October 2005.

The IMO Legal Committee has completed itswork on two draft Protocols to amend theTreaties, the main purpose of which is toprovide the legal basis for action to be takenagainst persons committing unlawful actsagainst ships. These acts include the seizure

of ships by force, acts of violence againstpersons on board ships and the placing ofdevices on board which are likely to destroyor damage the ship. Under the Convention,Contracting Governments are obliged either toextradite or prosecute alleged offenders.Similar provisions are contained in the SUAProtocol, relating to unlawful acts against fixedplatforms located on the continental shelf.

The aim of the two draft Protocols is tostrengthen the SUA Treaties in order toprovide an appropriate response to theincreasing risks posed to maritime navigationby international terrorism.

Proposed amendments to the Treatiesin the draft Protocols include asubstantial broadening of the range ofoffences included in Article 3 of theSUA Convention and the introductionof provisions in Article 8 to allow forthe boarding of vessels suspected ofbeing involved in terrorist activities.

The Conference will consider theseamendments as well as a number ofother, related, issues including thepolitical offences clause, the transfer ofprisoners clause and the entry intoforce criteria.

New Membersjoin IMO

Timor-Leste and Zimbabwe have becomeMembers of IMO, following their

deposit of instruments of acceptance of theConvention on the International MaritimeOrganization, as amended, with theSecretary-General of the United Nations.

With their accession the number of IMOMember States stands at 166, with threeAssociate Members.

Work on the revision of the SUA Treatiesfollowed from the adoption, in 2001, of Assemblyresolution A.924(22) which called for a review ofthe then existing measures and procedures toprevent acts of terrorism which threaten thesecurity of passengers and crews an the safetyof ships. The SUA amendments will complementthe provisions of SOLAS chapter XI-2 (Specialmeasures to enhance maritime security) and theInternational Ship and Port Facility Security(ISPS) Code, which entered into force in July2004, by providing a legal basis for the arrest,detention and extradition of terrorists in theunfortunate event that a terrorist attack againstshipping nevertheless occurs.

The revised SUA treaties will complement the maritime securitymeasures adopted in 2002

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10 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Basic principles and goals for goal-basedstandards (GBS) for new ship

construction were agreed in principle byIMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) atits 80th session. Other important issues onthe MSC agenda included the adoption ofrevised provisions for subdivision andstability in SOLAS chapter II-1 Construction– Structure, subdivision and stability,

machinery and electrical installations,continued work on passenger ship safetyand consideration of issues surrounding theimplementation of the maritime securitymeasures adopted by IMO.

Goal-based new shipconstruction standards

The five-tier system on which thedevelopment of GBS is being based consistsof goals (Tier I), functional requirements(Tier II), verification of compliance criteria(Tier III), technical procedures andguidelines, classification rules and industrystandards (Tier IV) and codes of practiceand safety and quality systems forshipbuilding, ship operation, maintenance,training, manning, etc. (Tier V).

The MSC agreed in principle with the basicprinciples of goal-based standards and withthe Tier I goals developed by the WorkingGroup on Goal-based New Ship ConstructionStandards.

The agreed basic principles state that IMOgoal-based standards are:

1 broad, over-arching safety, environmentaland/or security standards that ships arerequired to meet during their lifecycle;

2 the required level to be achieved by therequirements applied by class societiesand other recognized organizations,Administrations and IMO;

3 clear, demonstrable, verifiable, longstanding, implementable and achievable,irrespective of ship design andtechnology; and

4 specific enough in order not to be open todiffering interpretations.

The Tier 1 goals are based on the premisethat - for all new ships – “ships are to bedesigned and constructed for a specifieddesign life and to be safe andenvironmentally-friendly, when properly

operated and maintained under the specifiedoperating and environmental conditions, inintact and specified damage conditions,throughout their life”.

The Working Group also made progress ondeveloping the Tier II functionalrequirements, agreeing that for new oiltankers and bulk carriers in unrestrictednavigation (the ship is not subject to anygeographical restrictions (i.e. any oceans,any seasons) except as limited by the ship’scapability for operation in ice); the specifieddesign life is not to be less than 25 years andthey should be designed in accordance withNorth Atlantic environmental conditions andrelevant long-term sea state scatterdiagrams. Other functional requirements forthese ship types were agreed by the WorkingGroup, including those relating to structuralstrength, fatigue life, residual strength,protection against corrosion and so on.

The MSC approved the work plan for futurework on GBS and agreed to establish aCorrespondence Group to develop draft TierIII criteria for the verification of compliance.

The work plan for future work includes;consideration of the probabilistic risk-basedmethodology in the framework of GBS;completion of Tier II - functionalrequirements; development of Tier III –verification of compliance criteria;implementation of GBS; incorporation ofGBS into IMO instruments; development of aship construction file and consideration ofthe need for the development of a shipinspection and maintenance file;and consideration of the need toreview consistency and adequacyof scope across the tiers.

Revised SOLASchapter II-1 adopted

The revision of SOLAS chapter II-1is intended to harmonize theprovisions on subdivision anddamage stability for passenger andcargo ships. The revised provisionsin parts A, B and B-1 will beapplicable to new ships built afterthe expected entry into force dateof 1 January 2009.

The amendments, which have beenintensively developed over the past

From the meetings • Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)

• 80th session

• 11 - 20 May 2005

Maritime Safety Committee progressesgoal-based standards

decade, are based on the “probabilistic”method of determining damage stability,which is itself based on the detailed study ofdata collected by IMO relating to collisions.Because it is based on statistical evidenceconcerning what actually happens whenships collide, the probabilistic concept isbelieved to be far more realistic than thepreviously-used “deterministic” method.

The revision has taken into account theresults of the HARDER (Harmonisation ofRules and Design Rational) research project:a project undertaken by a consortium ofEuropean industrial, research and academicinstitutions to study the probabilisticapproach for assessing a ship's damagestability and to develop new criteria andindexes for subdivision based on probabilityof survival, taking into account effects fromwaves, heeling moments, cargo shift,transient effects and equalizationarrangements.

Bulk carrier constructionstandards - interpretations

The Committee considered requests byMembers for the preparation ofinterpretations to the revised SOLAS chapterXII, which was adopted by MSC 79 inDecember 2004 and is expected to enter intoforce on 1 July 2006, and agreed a circulargiving unified interpretations relating toregulation XII/4.2 – Damage stability

requirements applicable to bulk carriers

and regulation XII/5.2 – Structural strength

The meeting agreed basic principles for goal-based standards for newship design and construction

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80th session •11 - 20 May 2005 •

www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 11

Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) • From the meetings

of bulk carriers. With respect to regulationXII/6 Structural and other requirements for

bulk carriers, the Committee agreed toestablish an intersessional working group, tomeet in September 2005, in order to preparea unified interpretation of SOLAS regulationsXII/6.5.1 and 6.5.3. The working group willsubmit its report to the Technical Committeeof the 24th Assembly in November-December 2005 for consideration andappropriate action.

Voluntary Audit Scheme

The Audit Scheme is designed to helppromote maritime safety and environmentalprotection by assessing how effectivelyMember States implement and enforcerelevant IMO Convention standards, and byproviding them with feedback and advice ontheir current performance.

The MSC reviewed the report of the thirdsession of the Joint MSC/MEPC/TCCWorking Group on the Voluntary IMOMember State Audit Scheme and approvedthe draft Code for the implementation of

mandatory IMO instruments, which wasdeveloped by the Sub-Committee on FlagState Implementation (FSI) to be the auditstandard under the Audit Scheme. TheAudit Scheme and the Code will beconsidered by the IMO Council in June 2005with a view to their formal adoption by theIMO Assembly in November 2005.

The MSC agreed to recommend to theCouncil that security issues be removedfrom the Audit Scheme and Code at thistime, but agreed to develop, at anappropriate time, suitable provisions for theeventual inclusion of other safety- andsecurity-related issues in the Audit Schemeand Code, taking into account theexperience gained from the implementationof the Scheme and salient safety- andsecurity-related issues.

The MSC endorsed Guidance to auditors on

the STCW Convention areas to be covered

by the Audit Scheme; the draft Pre-audit

questionnaire; and the draft Assemblyresolutions on the adoption of the Code for

the implementation of mandatory IMO

instruments and on the Framework and

Procedures for the Voluntary IMO Member

State Audit Scheme.

Other amendments to SOLAS

The MSC adopted other amendments toSOLAS, with an expected entry into forcedate of 1 January 2007, including:

• New SOLAS regulation II-1/3-7 to requireship construction drawings to bemaintained on board and ashore.

• New SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 concerningtowing and mooring equipment. Theregulation will require all ships to beprovided with arrangements, equipmentand fittings of sufficient safe working loadto enable the safe conduct of all towingand mooring operations associated withthe normal operation of the ship.

• New SOLAS regulation II-1/23-3concerning water level detectors in thecargo hold(s) on new single hold cargoships other than bulk carriers.

• Amendment to SOLAS regulation II-1/31Machinery control to restrict theapplication of propulsion controlautomation systems to new ships only.

• (With expected entry into force of 1January 2009) New SOLAS regulations XI-1/3-1 and amendments to regulation XI-1/5on the mandatory company and registeredowner identification number.

• Also (expected entry into force of 1January 2009) amendments to add theIMO unique company and registeredidentification number to relevantcertificates and documents in theInternational Management Code for theSafe Operation of Ships and for PollutionPrevention (the ISM Code) andInternational ship and Port FacilitySecurity (ISPS) Code.

Amendments to bulk carrierinspection guidelines

The amendments to the Guidelines on the

enhanced programme of inspections during

surveys of bulk carriers and oil tankers

(resolution A.744(18)), as amended,incorporate some elements of the ConditionAssessment Scheme (CAS) required forcertain single hull tankers under the revisedMARPOL regulation I/13G and include re-organization of the guidelines to include anew section on survey guidelines for the

Unified interpretations concerning damage stability andstructural strength of bulk carriers were agreed

(Barber International)

inspection of double hull tankers. The datefor entry into force is 1 January 2007.

Passenger ship safety

The MSC agreed a revised work plan for theon-going work by the relevant Sub-Committees on passenger ship safety, theguiding philosophy for which is based on thepremise that the regulatory frameworkshould place more emphasis on theprevention of a casualty from occurring inthe first place and that future passengerships should be designed for improvedsurvivability so that, in the event of acasualty, persons can stay safely on board asthe ship proceeds to port.

The MSC approved the definition for thetime for orderly evacuation andabandonment as “the time, beginning whenthe casualty threshold is exceeded until allpersons have safely abandoned the ship, inwhich the ship remains viable for thispurpose”. The MSC agreed that, in the eventthat the casualty exceeds the threshold forreturn to port, an additional casualtyscenario, for design purposes, should bedeveloped. The MSC instructed the FireProtection (FP) and Stability, Load Lines andFishing Vessel Safety (SLF) Sub-Committeesto develop these scenarios to support theconcept that a passenger ship should remainviable for at least three hours, to allow forsafe, orderly evacuation and abandonment.

It was agreed that the casualty threshold isthe amount of damage a ship is able towithstand, according to the design basis, andstill safely return to port.

The aim is to complete the work onpassenger ship safety by 2006.

The MSC also agreed that the World

Maritime University (WMU) should begin

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12 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

a project to co-ordinate a search and rescue(SAR) research programme related topassenger ship safety. The first phase, to beimplemented from May 2005 to April 2006,will include initial data collection andreporting on the state of the art and currentresearch efforts and results in the subjectarea. The MSC requested the IMO Secretary-General to include in his budget proposal forthe 2006-2007 biennium an amount equivalentto US$90,000 in order to implement phase 2of the project, which would include furtherwork in data collection from sources notidentified by the Member States; developmentof an on-line database of current research;and the organization of a workshop/seminaron the subject area, to include the researchcommunity as well as other stakeholders.

Measures to enhancemaritime security

The MSC considered issues relating to theimplementation of the special measures toenhance maritime security which were adoptedin 2002 and entered into force on 1 July 2004.

The MSC approved draft amendments to theSTCW Convention on Requirements for the

issue of certificates of proficiency for ship

security officers; draft amendments to part Aof the STCW Code on Training requirements

for issue of certificates of proficiency for

ship security officers; and related draftamendments to part B of the STCW Code onGuidance regarding training for ship

security officers. The drafts will be circulatedwith a view to adoption at MSC 81 in 2006.

The proposed amendments to the STCWConvention and to parts A and B of the STCWCode require candidates for a certificate ofproficiency as a ship security officer todemonstrate the knowledge to complete a

From the meetings • Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)

• 80th session

• 11 - 20 May 2005

Towing and mooring equipment is the subject of aSOLAS amendment agreed by the Committee (USMMA)

MSC circulars

MSC/Circ.1002/Corr.1

Guidelines on alternative design andarrangements for fire safety

MSC/Circ.1154

Guidelines on training and certification forcompany security officers

MSC/Circ.1155

Guidance on the message priority and thetesting of ship security alert systems

MSC/Circ.1156

Guidance on the access of public authorities,emergency response services and pilotsonboard ships to which SOLAS chapter XI-2and the ISPS Code apply

MSC/Circ.1157

Interim scheme for the compliance of certaincargo ships with the special measures toenhance maritime security

MSC/Circ.1158

Unified interpretation of SOLAS chapter II-1

MSC/Circ.1159

Guidelines on the provision of stability-relatedinformation for bulk carriers

MSC/Circ.1160

Manual on loading and unloading of solidbulk cargoes for terminal representatives

MSC/Circ.1161

Guidance on training for fast rescue boatslaunch and recovery teams and boat crews

MSC/Circ.1162

General principles and recommendations forknowledge, skills and training for officers onwing-in-ground (WIG) craft operating in bothdisplacement and ground effect modes

MSC/Circ.1163

Parties to the International Convention onStandards of Training, Certification andWatchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, asamended, confirmed by the Maritime SafetyCommittee to have communicated informationwhich demonstrates that full and complete effect isgiven to the relevant provisions of the Convention

MSC/Circ.1164

Promulgation of information related toreports of independent evaluation submittedby Parties to the International Convention onStandards of Training, Certification andWatchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, asamended, confirmed by the Maritime SafetyCommittee to have communicatedinformation which demonstrates that Partiesare giving full and complete effect to therelevant provisions of the Convention

MSC/Circ.1165

Revised guidelines for the approval of equivalentwater-based fire-extinguishing systems formachinery spaces and cargo pump-rooms

MSC/Circ.1166

Guidelines for a simplified evacuationanalysis for high-speed passenger craft

MSC/Circ.1167

Functional requirements and performancestandards for the assessment of evacuationguidance systems

MSC/Circ.1168

Interim guidelines for the testing, approvaland maintenance of evacuation guidancesystems used as an alternative to low-locationlighting systems

MSC/Circ.1169

Unified interpretations to SOLAS chapter II-2

MSC/Circ.1170

Application of SOLAS regulation II-2/15 forlubricating oil and other flammable oilarrangements for ships built before 1 July 1998

MSC/Circ.1171

Closure of Inmarsat-E services by Inmarsat Ltd.

MSC/Circ.1172

Identification of passenger ships, other thanro-ro passenger ships, which should benefitfrom being equipped with the emergencymedical kit/bag (EMK)

MSC/Circ.1173

Adoption of amendments to the IAMSARManual

MSC/Circ.1174

Basic safety guidance for oceanic voyages bynon-regulated craft

MSC/Circ.1175

Guidance on shipboard towing and mooringequipment

MSC/Circ.1176

Interpretations to SOLAS chapters II-1 and XII

MSC/Circ.1177

Interpretations to the 2000 HSC Code

MSC/Circ.1178

Unified interpretations of SOLAS regulationsXII/4.2 and XII/5.2

MSC/Circ.1179

Deficiencies in hydrographic surveying andnautical charting worldwide and their impacton safety of navigation and protection of themarine environment

Other circulars

CSC/Circ.134

Guidance on serious structural deficiencies incontainers

LL.3/Circ.162

Unified interpretations of the InternationalConvention on Load Lines, 1966, and the 1988LL Protocol and its amendments

SN/Circ.234/Corr.1

Routeing measures other than trafficseparation schemes

STCW.6/Circ.7

Amendments to Part B of the Seafarers’Training, Certification and Watchkeeping(STCW) Code

Circulars approved by MSC 80

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range of tasks, duties and responsibilities,including: maintenance and supervision of theimplementation of a ship security plan;assessment of security risk, threat, andvulnerability; undertaking regular inspectionsof the ship to ensure that appropriate securitymeasures are implemented and maintained;ensuring that security equipment and systems,if any, are properly operated, tested andcalibrated; and encouraging securityawareness and vigilance.

The MSC also approved for circulation asMSC circulars:

Guidelines on the training and certification

of Company Security Officers (CSOs);

Guidance on the access of public

authorities, emergency response services

and pilots onboard ships to which SOLAS

chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code apply;

Guidance on the priority and testing of

ship security alert system; and Interim

scheme for the compliance of certain cargo

ships with the special measures to enhance

maritime security.

The MSC also adopted amendments toresolution A.959(23) on Format and

guidelines for the maintenance of the

continuous synopsis record intended toupdate the CSR format to include theregistered owner and the companyidentification numbers and to address anumber of practical difficulties encounteredduring the transfer of ships between flags.

Long-range identification andtracking of ships

The Working Group on Maritime Securityheld extensive discussions relating toproposed draft amendments to SOLAS toinclude a new regulation on long-rangeidentification and tracking of ships (LRIT).The purpose of the proposed draft regulationis to establish a mechanism for the collectionfrom ships of LRIT information for security,search and rescue and any other purpose asdetermined by the Organization and also ascheme for the provision of LRIT informationto Contracting Governments. The ships whichare required to comply with SOLAS chapterXI-2 and the ISPS Code would be required totransmit LRIT information.

The Committee noted that there were still anumber of outstanding technical issues to be

resolved and agreed that an intersessionalworking group should meet ahead of the10th session of the COMSAR Sub-Committeein early 2006 so that COMSAR 10 would beable to finalize the work. The COMSARcorrespondence group on LRIT was alsotasked with considering a number oftechnical issues, so as to enable COMSAR 10to complete its own work on LRIT.

The Committee also authorized theconvening of an MSC intersessional workinggroup on LRIT, not later than seven monthsbefore MSC 81, for the purpose ofdeveloping draft SOLAS amendments onLRIT to be circulated with a view toconsideration and adoption at MSC 81.

Formal safety assessment

The MSC reviewed the report of the JointMSC/MEPC Working Group on Formal SafetyAssessment (FSA) which met during thesession.

The MSC approved, subject to MEPCconcurrence, draft amendments to theGuidelines for Formal Safety Assessment

(FSA) for use in the IMO rule-making

process (MSC/Circ.1023 -MEPC/Circ.392) anda draft revised MSC/MEPC circular.

The amendments include revisions to section3 Methodology, including the addition of aparagraph outlining the need for data onincident reports, near misses and operationalfailures to be reviewed objectively and theirreliability, uncertainty and validity to beassessed and reported. The assumptionsmade and limitations of these data must alsobe reported.

The MSC agreed to establish aCorrespondence Group to further considerunresolved issues in particular concerning

Progress towards a new requirement for long range identification and tracking of ships was made but the Committee feltthere were still a number of outstanding technical issues to be resolved (OOCL)

80th session •11 - 20 May 2005 •

Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) • From the meetings

inconsistent results of different FSAs on thesame subject and clarifications of thetechnology used for particular FSAs.

The MSC also agreed on the establishment,when necessary, of an FSA Group of Expertsfor the purpose of reviewing an FSA study ifthe Committee plans to use the study formaking a decision on a particular issue. Aflow-chart for the FSA review process wasagreed. The MSC agreed in principle that theproposed expert group would undertake toreview FSA studies on specific subjectssubmitted to the Organization, as directed bythe Committee(s) and prepare relevantreports for submission to the Committee(s).The structure of the group of experts wasleft open for future discussion, though theCommittee agreed, in principle, thatmembers participating in the expert groupshould have risk assessment experience; amaritime background; andknowledge/training in the application of theFSA Guidelines.

Implementation of the revisedSTCW Convention

The list of Parties confirmed by the Committeeas having communicated informationdemonstrating full and complete effect to therelevant provisions of the InternationalConvention on Standards of Training,Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers(STCW), 1978, as amended, was updated.

The MSC also agreed an MSC circular onPromulgation of information related to

reports of independent evaluation

submitted by Parties to the International

Convention on Standards of Training,

Certification and Watchkeeping for

Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended,

confirmed by the Maritime Safety

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14 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Committee to have communicated

information which demonstrates that

Parties are giving full and complete effect to

the relevant provisions of the Convention.

The circular provides information on the duedate of the report of independent evaluation;the date of the report of the independentevaluation communicated to the Secretary-General (if applicable); and the outcome ofthe process of evaluation of the reports ofindependent evaluation communicated bythe STCW Parties demonstrating that theyare continuing to give full and completeeffect to the relevant provisions of the STCWConvention.

Rescue boat crew training

The MSC approved draft amendments topart A of the STCW Code regardingadditional training requirements for thelaunching and recovery operations of fastrescue boats, with a view to their adoptionat MSC 81. It agreed an MSC circular onGuidance on training for fast rescue boats

launch and recovery teams and boat

crews.

Officers on Wing-in-Groundcraft

The MSC approved general principles andrecommendations for knowledge, skills andtraining for officers on Wing-in-Ground(WIG) craft operating in both displacementand ground effect modes. They will beforwarded to the International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO) forconsideration.

Casualty investigation coderevisions

Noting that the Sub-Committee on Flag StateImplementation (FSI) had expressedoverwhelming support for the idea of

making the Code for theinvestigation of marinecasualties and incidentsmandatory, in full or inpart, the MSC instructedthe FSI Sub-Committeeto develop a draftrevised Code; to

determine whether therevised Code itself orparts thereof should bemade mandatory; and to

provide recommendations as to how such arevised code should be made mandatory, infull or in part.

Chemical carrier explosions

The MSC strongly urged the relevant flagStates to provide IMO with reports on theinvestigations into a number of incidents ofexplosions on chemical and product carriers,for analysis by the Inter Industry WorkingGroup (IIWG) which was established tostudy the reported incidents of explosions onchemical and product carriers.

Reports on marine casualtiesand incidents

The Committee approved, subject to MEPC’sconcurrent decision, a draft MSC/MEPCcircular on Reports on marine casualties

and incidents, superseding MSC/Circ.953 -MEPC/Circ.372.

From the meetings • Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)

• 80th session

• 11 - 20 May 2005

Resolutions adopted by MSC 80Resolution MSC.194(80) Adoption of amendments to the International Convention

for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amendedResolution MSC.195(80) Adoption of amendments to the International Management

Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for PollutionPrevention (International Safety Management (ISM) Code)

Resolution MSC.196(80) Adoption of amendments to the International Code for theSecurity of Ships and of Port Facilities (International Shipand Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code)

Resolution MSC.197(80) Adoption of amendments to the Guidelines on theenhanced programme of inspections during surveys of bulkcarriers and oil tankers (resolution A.744(18), as amended)

Resolution MSC.198(80) Adoption of amendments to the format and guidelines forthe maintenance of the Continuous Synopsis Record (CSR)(resolution A.959(23))

Resolution MSC.199(80) Adoption of amendments to provision of radio services forthe Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)(resolution A.801(19))

Resolution MSC.200(80) Adoption of amendments to the revised recommendationon testing of life-saving appliances

Certificates and documentation

The Committee approved a draft amendmentto the 1988 SOLAS Protocol, with a view to itsadoption at MSC 81, relating to the extensionof the five-year period of validity of the CargoShip Safety Construction Certificate or theCargo Ship Safety Certificate, in certain cases.In all cases, the interval between any twoinspections of the outside of the ship's bottomshall not exceed 36 months.

The MSC also approved, subject to MEPC’sconcurrent decision, a draft MSC/MEPCcircular on Recommended conditions for

extending the period of validity of a

certificate and a draft MSC/MEPC circularon Interpretations of the date of completion

of the survey and verification on which the

certificates are based.

Another draft MSC/MEPC circular, onRetention of original records/documents onboard ships, was approved. It addresses thefact that because ships often travel betweenmultiple jurisdictions, the retention of theoriginal records/documents on board theship is the primary method of attesting totheir compliance. Only in exceptionalcircumstances, should the originalrecords/documents be removed and replacedby certified copies. It was agreed to bringthe draft circular to the attention of theIMO/ILO Joint Working Group on the Fairtreatment of Seafarers.

Use of simulators is a key element of seafarer training under STCW. MSCupdated the list of Parties demonstrating full and complete implementation of therelevant provisions of the Convention

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55th session •14 - 16 June 2005 •

Technical Co-operation Committee (TC) • From the meetings

At its 55th session in June, the TechnicalCo-operation Committee noted the

Interim report on the status of ITCP

implementation (2004-2005), whichoutlined the results achieved inimplementation during the first year of thebiennium.

The report showed that the high level oftechnical co-operation continued to increaseduring 2004, with some US$14 million-worthdelivered at the regional and global level,compared with US$13.2 million in 2003. Atotal of 97 missions were carried out; 115courses, seminars and workshops were heldat the national, regional and global levels, and4,181 participants were trained world-wide.

Total donor contributions in 2004 amountedto US$18,011,329, against an expenditurelevel of some US$14,024,271, giving adelivery rate of 77.9% for the year. Theoverriding proportion of the ITCP fundingbase for 2004 was provided by the GEF andthe TC Fund, which together accounted for75% of expenditure.

The Committee approved the ITCP for 2006-2007, which included the ITCP’s missionstatement and priorities, its long-andmedium-term goals, reference to the strategicplan for the Organization (2004 to 2010), andthe thematic priorities identified by the MSC,MEPC and LEG. The document set out theprinciples in the preparation, design andexecution of the ITCP, provided theconstituent regional and global programmes,comprising 13 programmes (seven regionaland six global), with funding requirementstotalling some US$15.5 million.

The Committee discussed capacity-buildingaspects of the Voluntary IMO Member StateAudit Scheme and the financial implicationsthat would arise from the implementation ofthe Scheme.

The Committee agreed on the need to ensurethat developing countries participated fully inthe Voluntary IMO Member State AuditScheme and that US$500,000 should beallocated from the unreserved TC Fundtowards the funding requirement ofUS$1,077,000 estimated in the ITCP globalprogramme for the Scheme. This supportwould include covering the cost of conductingthe audit in some developing countries.

New resources for ITCPactivities

The Committee endorsed the proposals forthe TC Fund to support the implementationof the ITCP for the biennium 2006-2007, to beforwarded to the Council the following week,in accordance with the Rules of Operation ofthe Technical Co-operation Fund, and theamount proposed, increased from £4.88million to £5.15 million to incorporate theallocation for the global programme tosupport the Voluntary IMO Member StateAudit Scheme.

The Committee considered that it waspremature to establish a separate voluntarytrust fund for the Audit Scheme but encouragedMember States to make contributions for theAudit Scheme under the ITCP, following theexample of the Government of Netherlands.

The Government of the Netherlands pledgedcontributions to support the ITCP with€30,000 for the conduct of audits indeveloping countries and €25,000 forcapacity-building related to ship recycling, aswell as €25,000 for the InternationalMaritime Trust Fund (IMTF). TheGovernment of Egypt also pledged acontribution of US$50,000 spread over 5years under the framework of the MOUbetween IMO and the Government of Egyptspecifically for the benefit of ITCP activitiesin the Arab Region. The Committee was alsoinformed that several donors have recentlyincreased or pledged financial contributionsto the ITCP.

Meanwhile, the Technical Co-operationCommittee agreed, in principle, to theestablishment of an International ShipRecycling Fund on the understanding that,when the Fund was established, detailedinformation would be provided, inter alia, onthe specific purposes for which the Fundwould be used. The Committee noted thatthe primary purpose was to provide a specificfocus for potential donors (Governments andindustry) who may find it easier to contributeto a specific fund rather than generallysupport the ITCP.

Long term financing for ITCP

While the increase in technical co-operationdelivery steadily continued, the level offunding available for the implementation of

the ITCP was decreasing. The informationprovided to the Committee in the TCFinancial Forecast, with the current trendsprojecting the declining reserves of the TCFund over the next few years, indicated thatthis Fund could not be considered asustainable or predictable source of supportfor the ITCP.

The donor profile for 2004 comprised 20sources of funding, dominated by the TCFund (42% of disbursed funds) and theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) (32%).Eighteen donors covered the remaining 26%of the programme, with 12 donorsaccounting for less than 1% each of the totaldisbursements. The Committee noted thesignificance of the “pyramid structure” ofIMO’s TC donor-profile, with a concentrationof two primary sources at the top and awide, fragmented base, and its importantimplications for the forward-planning oftechnical co-operation activities.

The Committee agreed that it was necessaryto continue to address the issue of the long-term financial sustainability of the ITCP,which was a priority identified mostrecently by the Assembly in resolutionA.944(23) on the Organization’s StrategicPlan.

The Committee endorsed the formulation ofa resource-mobilization strategy for thelonger term implementation of the ITCPbased on the five precepts presented, whichwere as follows:

1 ensuring that the TC Fund wasmaintained as a core fund to support thedelivery of the primary activities of thebiennial ITCP, and as a means to attractcost-sharing participation from externaldonor countries and organizations;

2 maximizing the cost-effectiveness of ourdelivery mechanism – i.e. by reducingcosts without lowering the quality of theservices provided;

3 establishing an equitable financialmechanism which can ensure thesustainability of a certain minimum levelor core capacity of the Organization torespond to the emerging technicalassistance needs of developing membercountries;

TC Committee approves IntegratedTechnical Co-operation Programme

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16 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

4 mobilizing external financial and in-kindsupport through partnerships with MemberStates, organizations and industry, tosupplement the core funding of the ITCP;

5 sharing responsibility for resourcemobilization,

Global programmes onmaritime security

The Committee received an update on thesuccessful implementation of the globalprogrammes on International ship and PortFacility Security (ISPS) Code implementation andthe maritime security Train-the-Trainer courses.

To date, since the Global Programme on ISPSImplementation was launched in 2002, a totalof 19 regional and 55 nationalseminars/workshops, as well as 32 countryadvisory missions on maritime security, hadbeen delivered and some 3,800 personstrained. In addition, the Train-the-Trainerprogramme was launched in September 2004with 11 training courses conducted to date,with some 218 persons trained.

IMO Model Courses for Ship Security Officer,Company Security Officer and Port FacilitySecurity Officer have been published and areavailable in English, French and Spanish.Videos and CD-ROMs on port security havebeen produced in Arabic, Chinese, English,French, Russian and Spanish and will shortlybe distributed to developing countries.Meanwhile, the IMO Secretariat is in the finalstages of a tender specification for theconversion of the maritime security modelcourses into distance-learning tools.

IMO regional presenceprogramme

The Committee was updated on the activitiesof the regional co-ordination offices in Côted’Ivoire for West and Central (Francophone)Africa, in Ghana for West and Central

(Anglophone) Africa, inKenya for Eastern andSouthern Africa subregionand in the Philippines forEast Asia. It noted thebeneficial impact that theseoffices, as well as that ofthe Regional MaritimeAdviser in the Caribbean,were having in theirrespective regions on the

number of IMO activities carried out and onthe overall regional project delivery.

Thanks to field-level representation, theregional co-ordinators had been able toparticipate in the preparation andformulation of United Nations CommonCountry Assessment and DevelopmentAssistance Framework (CCA/UNDAF)documents and to contribute to regionalmeetings and conferences. As a result of theclose contacts that the regional co-ordinatorshad established with Member States, thedonor community and regional/subregionalorganizations involved in the maritimesector, they had represented IMO at 28meetings organized by different institutionsincluding the African Union, United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP), theEconomic Community Of West African States(ECOWAS), Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) and others.

The Committee noted that the Memorandum ofUnderstanding between India and IMO, for theestablishment of a regional presence office inSouth Asia, was very close to being finalized.

Partnership programme

The Committee was informed that IMO hadestablished some 30 partnership arrangementsfor its technical co-operation activities.Twenty of them were made with developingand developed countries and the rest withinternational and regional institutions. SinceJune 2004, partnerships have been establishedwith the Port Management Association forEastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) andthe Port Management Association of West andCentral Africa (PMAWCA). The purpose ofthe partnerships is for the two organizationsto assist in the implementation of ITCPactivities planned for Africa. The Delegationof the Islamic Republic of Iran informed theCommittee that they were in the process of

finalizing an MoU making available trainingfacilities and personnel. The Delegation ofCanada indicated its willingness to providesupport for the ITCP delivery throughpartnerships.

Programme for theIntegration of Women in theMaritime Sector (IWMS)

The Committee was updated on theimplementation of the Programme for theIntegration of Women in the Maritime Sector(IWMS). Financed through the TC Fund, theIWMS activities include the provision of short-term fellowships for women, and an on-goingseries of regional workshops. The aims of theIWMS programme include enhancing thevisibility and impact of women in themaritime industry while strengthening theindustry’s resource capacities, increasing thepercentage of women at senior managementlevel within the maritime sector andpromoting women's economic self-reliance,including access to employment.

Following the successful outcome of an initialseries of workshops held in Cape Verde,Egypt, Malawi and Mexico, the regionalseminar for the Pacific Islands on The Role ofWomen in the Maritime Sector: Opportunitiesand Challenges, hosted by Samoa in 2003,adopted a regional Resolution on Strategiesfor enhancing the role of women of the PacificIslands in the maritime sector. This wasfollowed by the establishment, in February2005, of the formal Pacific Women in MaritimeAssociation (WIMA), which aimed to promoteinformation and opportunities and the activeparticipation of women in the maritime sector.

Elsewhere, preliminary discussions, with aview to establishing a formal association inthe West and Central Africa sub-region forprofessional women in the port sector, wereinitiated at the 28th Annual Council and 4thRound Table of the Port ManagementAssociation of West and Central Africa(PMAWCA), in February 2005.

Since the establishment of the IWMSprogramme in 1988, a great deal has beenachieved in terms of making gender-awareness part of the culture in technical co-operation, resulting in an increase in thenumber of appointments of women at themanagement level of national maritime andport authorities.

From the meetings • Technical Co-operation Committee (TC)

• 55th session

• 14 - 16 June 2005

Port security: IMO Model Courses for Port Facility Security Officers have beenpublished and are available in English, French and Spanish. (Hobart PortAuthority)

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51st session •6 - 10 June 2005 •

Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV) • From the meetings

NAV Sub-Committee agrees mandatoryECDIS for high-speed craft

High-speed craft should be fitted with anElectronic Chart Display and

Information System (ECDIS) on a mandatorybasis, the Sub-Committee on Safety ofNavigation agreed at its 51st session in June.

The Sub-Committee agreed proposed draftamendments to the International Code ofSafety for High-Speed Craft 2000 (2000 HSCCode), as amended, which would requireECDIS to be fitted to all new craft and to allexisting craft under a phase-in schedule witha proposed final implementation date of 2010.The proposed amendments will be submittedto the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) atits 81st session in May 2006 for consideration.

The Sub-Committee agreed that there shouldbe a Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) studyon the use of ECDIS on ships other than highspeed craft and passenger ships prior to anydiscussion on a possible carriagerequirement for other ships.

The Sub-Committee also agreed to considerproposed amendments to the performancestandards for ECDIS at its next session,following work by an intersessionalcorrespondence group.

IHO online charts catalogue

The Sub-Committee expressed support for theInternational Hydrographic Office (IHO)initiative to establish a comprehensive onlinecatalogue of available official charts, whichwill facilitate the determination of an“appropriate folio of up-to-date paper charts”,as required by SOLAS. The Sub-Committeewas of the view that IHO should be invited toinclude the following in the catalogue:availability of Electronic Navigational Charts(ENCs); availability of Raster Navigational

Charts (RNCs); availability of officialpaper charts (as defined in SOLAS regulationV/2.2) and a list of charts compiled from inputsby coastal States as an “appropriate folio of up-to-date paper charts” as supplementary toECDIS working in RCDS mode.

The Sub-Committee’s correspondence groupon ECDIS was tasked with further reviewingthe draft specifications of the proposed chartcatalogue. It was agreed that Member Statesshould be invited to consider which papercharts would meet the “appropriate folio ofup-to-date paper charts” in territorial seasand where ENCs did not exist, and tocommunicate this information to IHO forinclusion in the online chart catalogue.Member States were advised to consult therelevant hydrographic authorities.

Performance standards forVDRS and S-VDRs –

Performance standards for Voyage DataRecorders (VDRS) and Simplified VDRS werereviewed and it was agreed that amendmentswere needed with regard to download andplayback equipment.

The Sub-Committee approved, forsubmission to the MSC, a draft MSCresolution Adoption of amendments to the

performance standards for shipborne

voyage data recorders (VDRs) (resolution

A.861(20)) and simplified voyage data

recorders (S-VDRs) (resolution

MSC.163(78)).

A Safety of Navigation circularRecommended means for extracting stored

data from voyage data recorders (VDRs)

and simplified voyage data recorders (S-

VDRs) for investigation Authorities wasalso approved. The circularrecommends that all VDR andS-VDR systems installed on orafter 1 July 2006 be suppliedwith an accessible means forextracting the stored data fromthe VDR or S-VDR to acomputer.

It also recommends thatmanufacturers should provide:an output port providing data inan internationally recognized

format, such as Ethernet, USB,FireWire, or equivalent;

software, compatible with an operating systemavailable with commercial-off-the-shelfcomputers stored on a portable storage devicesuch as a CD-ROM, DVD, USB-memory stick,etc.; and instructions for executing thesoftware and for connecting the computer tothe VDR/S-VDR.

Galileo – performancestandards in development

Draft Performance standards for shipborne

Galileo receiver equipment were preparedand the Sub-Committee recommended thatPerformance standards for shipborne

Galileo receiver equipment be included onthe agenda for its next session. It was agreedthat it was important to complete theperformance standards by 2006 in order togive time for industry to produce equipmentahead of the Galileo system becomingoperational in 2008. It is anticipated thatGalileo will be proposed by the Galileosystem operators to the Organization as acomponent of the World-WideRadionavigation System (WWRNS).

Voyage planning forpassenger ships

The Sub-Committee endorsed a draftAssembly resolution on Voyage and passage

planning for passenger ships operating in

remote areas for submission to the MSC at its81st session in 2006, with a view to adoptionat the 25th session of the Assembly in 2007.The draft resolution, as a standalonedocument for passenger ships operating inremote areas, is intended to supplementresolution A.893(21) Guidelines for voyage

planning.

The draft resolution recommends thatpassenger ships operating in remote areasshould include additional factors in theirvoyage planning, including the source, age,and the quality of the hydrographic data onwhich the charts to be used are based;limitations of available Maritime SafetyInformation (MSI) data and Search andRescue resources; availability or lack of aidsto navigation; and places of refuge. Thedetailed voyage and passage plan shouldinclude the following factors: safe areas andno-go areas; surveyed marine corridors, ifavailable; and contingency plans foremergencies in view of limited support

MSC will be asked to approve HSC Code amendments that will see high-speed craft required to fit ECDIS by 2010 (International Fast Ferries)

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18 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

available for assistance in remote areas.Ships operating in Arctic or Antarctic watersshould also include in their detailed voyageand passage plan additional information,including knowledge of ice and iceformations; how environmental conditionssuch as current, wind, calm weather, fog anddifferent seasons affect the ice andnavigation in ice; and measures beforeentering waters where ice may be present.

Passenger ship safety

As part of the ongoing work by IMO onpassenger ship safety, the Sub-Committeereviewed relevant draft performance

standards for essential systems and

equipment on passenger ships for safe

return to port after a casualty and for three

hour time to remain habitable after a

casualty. With respect to navigation systems,the Sub-Committee agreed the followingrevised wording: “Equipment essential fornavigation, position fixing and detection ofrisk of collision should also be available.The vessel should be capable of displayingthe proper light configuration in compliancewith the International Regulations forPreventing Collisions at Sea.”

Review of performancestandards for INS

The Sub-Committee agreed a revised draftstructure of performance standards forIntegrated Navigation Systems (INS) andestablished a correspondence group tocontinue the work in developing the text ofthe performance standards intersessionally.The draft structure provides the framework

for the performance standards to bedeveloped in several sections, to includepurpose; scope; application; definitions; PartA - Integration of navigational information toinclude system requirements; Part B – Task-related requirements for IntegratedNavigational Systems to include operationalrequirements; compliance with SOLAS;configuration of INS; functionalrequirements for displays of INS; automaticcontrol systems; back up and fallbackarrangement; technical requirements; Part C- Alarm management system; and Part D -Documentation requirements.

The revised performance standards shouldallow for the proper application of SOLASregulation V/15 Principles relating to bridge

design, design and arrangement of

navigational systems and equipment and

bridge procedures and overcome thelimitations of the existing performancestandards for INS.

• New traffic separation schemes for sevenColombian ports: Puerto Bolivar, SantaMarta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Turbo,Buenaventura including Bahia Malagaand Tumaco.

• Amendments to the existing TrafficSeparation Schemes “In the Strait ofJuan de Fuca and its approaches”(Canada and the United States);

• Amendment to the existing TrafficSeparation Scheme “Off Cabo de Gata”(Spain);

• Amendments to the Existing TrafficSeparation Scheme “Off PorkkalaLighthouse” (Estonia, Finland and theRussian Federation); and

• Amendments to Existing TrafficSeparation Scheme “In the Strait of Doverand Adjacent Waters” (United Kingdom).

• Amendment to the existing Area to beAvoided: CS4 Buoy, Dover Strait (UnitedKingdom).

• Two new Areas to be Avoided in theColombian part of the Caribbean Sea -the Rosario Islands and Salmedina Bank,and the Gulf of Morrosquillo (Colombia).

• Canary Islands Particularly Sensitive SeaArea (PSSA) - associated protectivemeasures: Establishment of new TrafficSeparation Schemes; Areas to beAvoided; and a new mandatory ShipReporting System.

Ships’ routeingThe Sub-Committee approved the following new or amended ships’ routeing

measures for submission to the MSC 81st session in May 2006 for adoption:

The following ships’ routeing systems were approved for submission to the 24th

session of the Assembly in November-December 2005 for adoption:

• Amendments to the existing mandatoryship reporting system “In the Great BeltTraffic Area”.

• Galapagos Archipelago PSSA –establishment of a new Area to be Avoidedas an associated protective measure.

• Baltic Sea Area PSSA - Establishment ofnew Traffic Separation Schemes; arecommended Deep-Water Route; Areasto be Avoided; and amendments toexisting Traffic Separation Schemes asassociated protective measures.

From the meetings • Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV)

• 51st session

• 6 - 10 June 2005

Artist’s impression of a Galileo satellite; the Sub-Committee aims to complete performance standards forshipborne Galileo receiver equipment by 2006 in order togive time for industry to produce equipment ahead ofthe Galileo system becoming operational in 2008 (ESA)

Review of OSV guidelines

The Sub-Committee finalised its review ofthe Guidelines for the Design and

Construction of Offshore Supply Vessels

(originally adopted by resolution A.469(XII))and forwarded its comments concerningoperational precautions against capsizing tothe Sub-Committee on Stability and LoadLines and on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF),which is co-ordinating the review of theguidelines.

Code of safety for specialpurpose ships (SPS Code)

The Sub-Committee recommended thatspecial purpose ships should comply with theprovisions of chapter V of the 1974 SOLASConvention as amended and that words tothat effect should be included in the revisedCode. The SPS Code was adopted in 1983and is being revised to reflect amendments toSOLAS adopted since 1983.

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www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 19

32nd session •4 - 8 July 2005 •

Facilitation Committee (FAL) • From the meetings

Facilitation Committee adopts Conventionamendments

The Facilitation Committee adoptedamendments to the FAL Convention

when it met for its 32nd session from 4 to 8July 2005. The amendments are intended tomodernize the Convention in order toenhance the facilitation of internationalmaritime traffic.

The amendments include the following:

• a Recommended Practice for publicauthorities to develop the necessaryprocedures in order to use pre-arrival andpre-departure information to facilitate theprocessing of information, and thusexpedite release and clearance of cargoand persons;

• a Recommended Practice that allinformation should be submitted to asingle point to avoid duplication;

• encouragement of electronic transmissionof information; and

• the addition of references to theInternational Ship and Port FacilitySecurity (ISPS) Code and SOLAS chapterXI-2 in the Standards and RecommendedPractices which mention securitymeasures; and

• amendments to the IMO Standardized FALForms (1 to 7).

The amendments are expected to enter intoforce on 1 November 2006.

Persons rescued at sea

As amendments to the SOLAS and SARConventions adopted in May 2004 (expectedto enter into force on 1 July 2006), relatingto persons rescued at sea will place for thefirst time, obligations on ContractingGovernments to “co-ordinate and co-operate” in progressing the matter so thatassisted survivors are disembarked from theassisting ship and delivered to a place ofsafety within a reasonable time; theCommittee also adopted an amendment tothe FAL Convention relating to personsrescued at sea, to be included in a standardin Section 2 - Arrival, stay and departure ofthe ship. The proposed amendment wouldrequire public authorities to facilitate thearrival and departure of ships engaged in therescue of persons in distress at sea in orderto provide a place of safety for such persons.

Prevention andcontrol of illicitdrug trafficking

The Committee agreedto revise the Guidelines

for the prevention and

suppression of

smuggling of drugs,

psychotropic substances

and precursor

chemicals on ships

engaged in

international maritime

traffic (resolutionA.872(20)), inconjunction with theMaritime Safety Committee, to update andalign them with the provisions of theInternational Ship and Port Facility SecurityCode (ISPS Code). To this end, theCommittee prepared a draft Assemblyresolution for submission to the IMOAssembly at its 24th session in November-December 2005 for adoption which would,inter alia, authorize the Committee and theMSC to adopt jointly a new version of theGuidelines. The revision work will be carriedout at MSC 81 in May and FAL 33 in July 2006.

Training and education forshore-side mooring personnel

The Committee approved a circular onGuidelines on minimum training and

education for mooring personnel.

The guidelines provide MemberGovernments, port authorities and the portindustry with guidance on recommendedtraining and education for shore-sidemooring personnel, the application of whichaims to assure the shipping industry and thepublic at large that there is an adequate levelof competence available in ports, to enableships to enter, stay and leave a port safely,secure and efficiently. The guidelines havebeen developed for non-seafarers seeking toenter the profession for the first time.However, they may be used, as a guide, bythose seeking to develop programmes toupgrade the knowledge and level ofeducation or training of existing mooringpersonnel.

The Committee also established aCorrespondence Group on Development of a

Model Course on Training of MooringPersonnel to develop a suitable modelcourse.

Shipments of IMDG Codeclass 7 radioactive materials

The Committee approved a circular onDifficulties encountered in the shipment of

IMDG Code class 7 radioactive material

and, in particular, Cobalt-60. The circularis intended to help alleviate the reporteddifficulties encountered in the shipment ofIMDG Code class 7 radioactive materials andin particular Cobalt-60.

The circular notes that shipping andhandling of IMDG Code class 7 radioactivematerials, when carried out in compliancewith the relevant provisions of SOLASchapter VII, the IMDG Code andRecommendations on the safe transport of

dangerous cargoes and related activities in

port areas (MSC/Circ.675), should beconsidered as meeting the necessary safetyrequirements and should be facilitated.

The circular recommends that the efficient,cost effective and expeditious handling andshipment of Cobalt-60 aboard ships, and inand through ports, should be facilitated.

Cobalt-60, a non-fissile IMDG Code class 7radioactive material with UN 2916, is used tosterilize approximately 45% of all single usemedical supplies used worldwide, such assyringes, surgeons’ gloves, bandages, and awide variety of other products. Cobalt-60 isalso relied upon to sterilize a vast array ofconsumer products and is used to make thefood supply safer by eliminating food

FAL Convention amendments concerning pre-arrival and pre-departure informationare intended to modernize the Convention and make life easier for ships’ staff duringport turnarounds

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20 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

From the meetings • Facilitation Committee (FAL)

• 32nd session

• 4 - 8 July 2005

pathogens and to reduce the incidence ofdisease-carrying insects. Cobalt-60 is one ofthe radioisotopes used in the treatment ofcancer.

Decrease in stowawayincidents reported

The Committee noted information on adecrease in reported incidents of stowawayssince the adoption of the 2002 amendmentsto the FAL Convention (addressing theresolution of stowaway incidents) and theentry-into-force on 1 July 2004, of SOLASchapter XI-2 Special measures to enhance

maritime security and the ISPS Code, theCommittee noted.

The annual statistics of incidents reportedto IMO for the years 2003 and 2004 showedthat 281 stowaway incidents had occurred(183 in 2003 and 98 in 2004), involving 686stowaways (476 in 2003 and 210 in 2004).The most affected areas were West Africa(208 stowaways – 43.70% of the total in 2003and 106 stowaways – 54.48 % of the total in2004) and the Mediterranean, Black Sea andNorth Sea (114 stowaways – 23.95% in 2003and 64 stowaways – 30.48% in 2004).

Shipboard certificates anddocuments

Following a proposal by the InternationalChamber of Shipping (ICS), the Committeeagreed to consider whether, in future, accessto the information on certificates of shipsengaged on international voyages might befacilitated and simplified through the use ofmodern communication technology, such asaccess to online databases.

As ships are required to carry certaincertificates and documents on board forvalidation when necessary, the Committeeagreed that a detailed analysis needed to becarried out to determine which certificatesand documents have to be kept on boardvessels and which may be retained inelectronic format. Careful considerationwas also necessary to be given to who couldaccess such electronic documents. TheCommittee also agreed that the MaritimeSafety Committee (MSC) and MarineEnvironment Protection Committee (MEPC)should be consulted on the feasibility andpracticability of such a system.

Single Window System

The Committee discussed a recommendationto establish an XML-based Single WindowSystem framework in an effort to simplify,standardize and make effective use ofpresent arrival and departure informationthrough electronic means. It was agreed thatfurther discussion was needed and that anElectronic Data Interchange Working Groupshould meet at the next session to discussthe development of the Single Windowsystem for the exchange and management ofinformation; the development of MessageImplementation Guidelines (MIG) forexchange of information electronically on allIMO/FAL Forms; the development of auniform ship’s pre-arrival electronic messagefor the transmission of security-relatedinformation; and related issues, includingcollaboration with the United Nations Centrefor Trade Facilitation and ElectronicBusiness, (UN/CEFACT), the World Customs

Organization (WCO) and the InternationalOrganization for Standardizaton (ISO).

Facilitation in avoiding safetythreatening conditions

The Committee approved a circular onFacilitation in avoiding safety threatening

conditions. The Circular notes that theCommittee has received reports of anumber of incidents wherein publicauthorities refused or delayed, for variousreasons, the movement of material,equipment, fuel and any other supplies toships essential for their safe operations.Consequently, ships had proceeded to sea inunsafe conditions, often presenting a hazardto other ships and the marine environment.The Committee agreed that publicauthorities should not unreasonablyprevent, except in the case of judicialproceedings, the delivery of essentialsupplies to a ship.

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22 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Feature • International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade

Globalization and international trade

It may seem obvious to say that, today, we live in aglobal world, and it is certainly true that international

trade among all the nations and regions of the world isnothing new. From the Phoenicians, through theEgyptians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians, the Chinese,the Vikings, the Omanis, the Spaniards, the Portuguese,the Italians, the British, the French, the Dutch, thePolynesians and Celts, the history of the world is ahistory of exploration, conquest and trade by sea.

But there is no doubt that we have now entered a newera of global interdependence from which there can beno turning back. In today’s world, national boundariesoffer little impediment to multi-national corporations:automobiles with far-eastern brands are not only sold butalso assembled in Europe, while European brands areassembled and sold in North America; “western” energycompanies invest millions of dollars in Asia and the far-east and the strategy and investment decisions they makecan affect millions of people all over the world.

The high-flyers of the business world can cross oceans injust hours, communicating by email and telephone asthey go. In the financial markets, brokers and tradershave thrown off the constraints of time zones anddistance and now access the markets all over the worldvia their computers. In the 21st century, emergingindustries such as computer software, media and fashionhave no obvious geographical dimension and recogniseno physical boundaries. In today’s consumer world, thesame brands are recognised, understood and valued allover the world.

The process of globalization and thefactors that have enabled it to evolve wererecognized by the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, in 2000. Heobserved, “Globalization has been madepossible by the progressive dismantling ofbarriers to trade and capital mobility,fundamental technological advances,steadily declining costs of transport,communication and computing. Itsintegrative logic seems inexorable, itsmomentum irresistible.”

Looking back into history, we can trace thestages through which we have progressedto arrive at this new world order. Therewas a time when, for any given community,the most important raw materials, the mostimportant products and the most importantmarkets were essentially local. But, asinteraction between communities grew,trade developed and regional specialities,

often founded on the availability of particular rawmaterials or on saleable skill-sets that had beendeveloped over time, began to emerge.

As the world became more developed, proximity to rawmaterials and to markets became the factors that, aboveall others, shaped the world’s economy and, in particular,the major trade patterns and shipping routes.

Eventually, the great seaborne trades became established:coal from Australia, Southern Africa and North Americato Europe and the Far East; grain from North and SouthAmerica to Asia, Africa and the Far East; iron ore fromSouth America and Australia to Europe and the Far East;oil from the Middle East, West Africa, South America andthe Caribbean to Europe, North America and Asia; andnow we must add to this list containerized manufacturesfrom China, Japan and South-east Asia to the consumermarkets of the western world. Global trade haseffectively permitted an enormous variety of resources tobe more widely accessible and has thus facilitated thewidespread distribution of our planet’s common wealth.

Today, international trade has evolved to the point wherealmost no nation can be fully self-sufficient. Everycountry is involved, at one level or another, in the processof selling what it produces and acquiring what it lacks:none can be dependent only on its domestic resources.

Global trade has fostered an interdependency and inter-connectivity between peoples who would previously haveconsidered themselves completely unconnected. Thepotential benefits are clear: growth can be acceleratedand prosperity more widespread; skills and technologycan be more evenly dispersed, and both individuals andcountries can take advantage of previously unimaginedeconomic opportunities.

Shipping has always provided the only really cost-effective method of bulk transport over any greatdistance, and the development of shipping and theestablishment of a global system of trade have movedforward together, hand-in-hand. Those with access tonatural resources; those with the ability to convert thoseresources into useful products for the good of mankind;and those with a requirement and the wherewithal toutilize and consume those end products are all joined bythe common thread of shipping. The eternal triangle ofproducers, manufacturers and markets are broughttogether through shipping. This has always been the caseand will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Shipping and the global economy

In selecting the theme for World Maritime Day 2005 –International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade – it ishoped that Governments, organizations, the shippingindustry and all other stakeholders will be able to draw

World Maritime Day 2005

International Shipping - Carrier ofWorld Trade

The world has now entered a newera of global interdependence fromwhich there can be no turning back

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www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 23

International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade • Feature

attention to the vital role that shipping playsin underpinning international commerce andthe world economy as the most efficient,safe and environmentally friendly method oftransporting goods around the globe. Welive in a global society which is supported bya global economy – and that economy simplycould not function if it were not for shipsand the shipping industry.

More than 90 per cent of global trade iscarried by sea. It is almost impossible toquantify the value of volume of worldseaborne trade in monetary terms: however,the United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD) estimates that theoperation of merchant ships contributesabout US$380 billion in freight rates withinthe global economy, equivalent to about 5%of total world trade.

Shipping trade estimates are usuallycalculated in tonne-miles – a measurementof tonnes carried, multiplied by the distancetravelled. In 2003, for example, the industryshipped around 6.1 thousand million tonnesover a distance of about 4 million miles,resulting in a staggering total of over 25thousand billion tonne-miles of trade.

Throughout the last century the shippingindustry has seen a general trend ofincreases in total trade volume. Increasingindustrialization and the liberalization ofnational economies have fuelled free tradeand a growing demand for consumerproducts. Advances in technology have alsomade shipping an increasingly efficient andswift method of transport. Over the last fourdecades, total seaborne trade estimates havemore than quadrupled, from less than 6thousand billion tonne-miles in 1965 to thelatest full-year figure of 25 thousand billiontonne-miles in 2003.

As with all industrial sectors, however,shipping is not immune to occasionaleconomic downturns – a notable fall in tradeoccurred, for example, during the worldwideeconomic recession of the early 1980s.However, although the growth in seabornetrade was tempered by the Asian financialcrisis of the late 1990s, there has generallybeen healthy growth in maritime trade since1993. Overall, between 1980 and 1999, thevalue of world trade grew at 12% per year,while total freight costs, during the sameperiod, increased by only 7%, demonstratingthe falling unit costs of marinetransportation.

The transport cost element in the shelf priceof consumer goods varies from product toproduct, but is ultimately marginal. Forexample, transport costs account for onlyaround 2% of the shelf price of a televisionset and only around 1.2% of a kilo of coffee.

Shipping is truly the lynchpin of the globaleconomy. Without shipping, intercontinentaltrade, the bulk transport of raw materialsand the import/export of affordable food andmanufactured goods would simply not bepossible. Today’s world fleet is registered inover 150 nations and is manned by over amillion seafarers of virtually everynationality.

In the context of a globaleconomy, the contribution madeby shipping as a major industry inits own right is very significant,and increasingly so for thedeveloping world. Maritimeactivity already provides animportant source of income tomany developing countries.Indeed, developing countries nowlead the world in some ofshipping’s most important ancillarybusinesses, including theregistration of ships, the supply ofsea-going manpower and shiprecycling. They also play asignificant part in shipowning andoperating, shipbuilding and repairand port services, among others.

As seaborne trade continues toexpand, it brings benefits forconsumers throughout the worldthrough low freight costs that are

continuing to decrease in real terms. Thanksto the growing efficiency of shipping as amode of transport and to increasedeconomic liberalization, the prospects forthe industry’s further growth continue to bestrong.

The world fleet and modernships

The history of shipping is a glorious andproud one. There is no doubt, for example,that the magnificent square riggers of the eraof sail or the early 20th century’s prestigiousocean liners could stir the hearts of all thosethat beheld them. But the ships of today arejust as worthy of our admiration, forshipping today is in another truly golden age.Ships have never been so technicallyadvanced, never been so sophisticated,never been more immense, never carried somuch cargo, never been safer and neverbeen so environmentally-friendly as they aretoday.

Mammoth containerships nudging the 10,000TEU barrier yet still capable of 25 knotoperating speeds; huge oil tankers and bulkcarriers that carry vast quantities of fuel,minerals, and grain and other commoditiesaround our planet economically, safely andcleanly; the complex and highly specialized

Every country is involved, at one level or another, in theprocess of selling what it produces and acquiring whatit lacks

The transport of commodities in bulk is only commercial viable by sea(Port of Newcastle Authority)

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24 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Feature • International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade

workhorses of the offshore industry; and thewonderful giants of the passenger ship worldare all worthy of our greatest admiration.

In shipping today we can see many marvelsof state-of-the-art engineering andtechnology that deserve to be rankedalongside the very finest achievements ofour global infrastructure. We all marvel atthe wonders of the modern world –skyscrapers, bridges, dams, ship canals,tunnels and so on. Although they all deserveour admiration, there should be no questionthat today’s finest ships are also worthy ofthe sort of recognition usually reserved forthe great icons of land-based civilengineering – with one substantial differencein favour of the former: while skyscrapers,bridges, dams et al are static structuresdesigned to withstand the elements comingto them, the very essence of marine vehiclessends them out to sea to face the elementsat full force, alone in the vastness of theocean. They should, therefore, be robustwhen built and maintained as suchthroughout their entire lifetime.

Ships are high value assets, with the largerof them costing over US $100 million tobuild. They are also technicallysophisticated: you are more likely to findone of today’s modern vessels beingcontrolled by a single joystick and a mouse-ball in the arm of the helmsman’s seat thanby a horny-handed bosun grappling with aspoked wheel; the chief engineer willprobably have clean hands and the calluseson his or her fingers will be from tapping akeyboard rather than wielding a spanner.The crew accommodation will be clean, lightand airy with modern recreation facilities;the food will be good; and you may well findthe first officer exchanging emails with hisfamily at home via the satellitecommunication system. Ships today aremodern, technologically advanced

workplaces and the work ofIMO has played, andcontinues to play, animportant part in shapingthat environment.

As at 1 January 2005, theworld trading fleet wasmade up of 46,222 ships,with a combined tonnage of

597,709,000 gross tonnes. The vast bulk ofthe fleet was made up of: general cargo ships(18,150), tankers (11,356), bulk carriers(6,139), passenger ships (5,679) andcontainerships (3,165). Other ship typesaccounted for 1,733 vessels.

Although general cargo ships are still thelargest single category, the trend among newships is more and more in favour ofspecialization (although it could be arguedthat handy-sized, geared bulk carriers andversatile medium-sized containerships, ofwhich some have the ability toaccommodate several different box sizes aswell as palletised cargo are the naturalsuccessors of the old general cargo vessels);indeed, it is interesting to note that, in themost recent edition of the annual“Significant Ships” publication from theUnited Kingdom’s Royal Institution of NavalArchitects, not a single one of the 50selected for 2004 was a general cargo vessel.

Tankers make up the second largestcategory. There are many different types oftanker, ranging from those carrying crudeoil, through those built to transport variousrefined hydrocarbon products, to highlyspecialized ships that carry liquefiedpetroleum gas and natural gas. There areeven tankers designed to carry cargoes suchas fresh water, wine or orange juice. In sizeterms, the heyday of the tanker was the early1970s, when the so-called Ultra-Large CrudeCarriers (ULCCs), capable of lifting morethan half a million tonnes of cargo, bestrodethe oceans. After the oil crisis of the 70s,tanker owners became a little more modestin their ambitions and, since then, most largemodern tankers are in the 200-300,000tonnage range. These are still massivevessels and enormously expensive to build,but today’s high price of oil means they canpay for themselves in a relatively shortperiod of time.

The world’s largest ship today is a 564,765dwt tanker with an interesting and variedhistory. She was built in 1976 and havingundergone some work to increase her load-carrying capacity, was finally floated twoyears later and named Seawise Giant.

At first, she operated in the Gulf of Mexicoand the Caribbean Sea, but was then usedfor exporting oil from Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. In 1986, she was attacked but notsunk in the Strait of Hormuz and at the endof the war in 1989 she was repaired andrenamed Happy Giant. In 1991, she wasrenamed again, this time to Jahre Viking.

In March 2004, the ship was sold and sent byits new owner to be refitted as a floatingstorage and offloading unit. There, she wasgiven her current name, Knock Nevis, andplans have been made to operate her in theAl Shaheen oilfield in the waters of Qatar.

Perhaps more typical of the kind of largecrude oil carrier being built today is theIrene SL, also built in Japan in 2004.Selected as one of the Naval Architect’s 50“Significant Ships”” of 2004, Irene SL has adesign deadweight of just under 300,000 dwt,a double-hull construction and is capable ofhandling three different grades of oilsimultaneously in her 15 cargo tanks. Hercargo and ballast control systems, includingthe operation of pumps, valves and ullagemeasurement are all computerized. Forsafety, inert gas is pumped into the cargotanks when they are empty and, to complywith the most recent requirements onemissions, the ship is fitted with a scrubbersystem to clean the exhaust gas.

Bulk carriers are often called theworkhorses of the international shippingfleet. They can be thought of as simple,relatively unsophisticated but neverthelesshighly efficient vessels that typicallytransport commodities such as grain, coaland mineral ores. If tankers provide the fuelthat powers the modern economy, bulkcarriers are responsible for moving the rawmaterials that are its lifeblood.

In terms of size, the world’s bulk carrier fleethas three categories; ships of up to 50,000dwt are known as “handy-sized”; ships of50,000 to 80,000 dwt are known as“Panamax” (being the largest ships able to

The world’s largest ship, the former Jahre Viking, seen here fully laden with oil

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transit the Panama Canal) and ships of morethan 80,000 dwt are known as “capsize”.Bulk carriers embrace a number ofvariations – single or double hull, with orwithout their own cargo-handling equipment– but all are characterized by the huge hatchcovers that can be rolled or lifted away toreveal to cavernous holds beneath.

Because of the nature of the cargoes theycarry – often heavy, high-densitycommodities – accidents involving bulkcarriers have sometimes resulted inconsiderable loss of life. For this reasonIMO has, over a long period of time,undertaken a great deal of work to improvethe safety of this type of vessel. There is, forexample, a special chapter on bulk carriersafety in the Safety of Life at SeaConvention, covering such topics as damage

stability, structural strength,surveys and loading. In acasualty analysis undertakenrecently by the InternationalAssociation of Dry CargoShipowners – Intercargo – forbulk carriers for the ten yearsto 2001 it revealed that thenumber of ships, lives andtonnage being lost in thissector are all decreasing.Moreover, the report hasspecifically identified that IMOmeasures such as theEnhanced Programme ofInspections during Surveys and SOLASchapter XII on bulk carrier safety, havereduced the risk of fatality on new andexisting ships by 50 % and 25 % respectively.

More than 90 per cent of world trade is carried by sea. In 2003 the industryshipped around 6.1 thousand million tonnes over a distance of about 4million miles, resulting in a staggering total of over 25 thousand billiontonne-miles of trade (CEPSA)

Passenger ships come next in the world fleetleague table. There are two basic categories– which can be summed up as “fun” or“function”. In the latter category are those

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which are designed to move people and,often, vehicles on regular itineraries fromone place to another as quickly and cheaplyas possible (ie ferries) and, in the former,those which the passengers see as a leisuredestination in their own right (ie cruiseships). In both categories, the size,sophistication and the sheer number ofpassengers that can be carried have reachedmind-boggling proportions. Because of theirindividuality, as well as their resonance withthe great ocean liners of a bygone era, theseships tend to be the best known and mostrecognized among the general public at large.

One of the finest modern examples is theQueen Mary II, built in France for CarnivalCorp’s Cunard in 2004. QM2 is the largest,longest, tallest, widest ocean liner ever andhas cost an estimated $800 million dollars.She incorporates all the very latestinternational standards with regard to safety,security and environmental protection,offering her passengers an unparalleledopportunity to experience the wonders ofocean travel in the finest style.

With ships such as this, it is little wonderthat, over the past ten or fifteen years, thecruise and passenger sector has become oneof the industry’s most vibrant sectors and isnow a major force within shipping, both interms of technological development andcommercial success.

But the one sector which can be said to havetransformed the face of shipping, certainly in

the latter half of the 20thcentury, is that of containershipping. Unheard of beforethe 1960s, the container isnow ubiquitous and is thestandard unit of cargo forjust about every form ofmanufactured item on theplanet (there areexceptions: automobiles,for example, aretransported in special shipsdesigned solely for thepurpose).

Today’s giantcontainerships can carrymore than 8,000 “boxes”and typically operatebetween purpose-built

ports served by massive cranes that can loadand unload containers at astonishing rates.Containership operators can offer fixedsailing schedules with tight delivery marginsand these ships are now an integral part ofthe modern, multi-modal transport andlogistics industry.

Safety and sustainability

The sea has always been a potentiallyhazardous and dangerous workingenvironment. Yet, ship operators today havenew factors and new pressures to contendwith. The structure of the globalmarketplace requires that goods andmaterials be delivered not only to thegeographical location where they arerequired but also within a very precisetimeframe. Today, goods in transit arecarefully factored-in to the supply chain and,as a result, the transportation industry –which embraces both shipping and ports –has become a key component of amanufacturing sector which sets its store byproviding a complete “door-to-door” service.

As a consequence, safety and efficiency havenow, more than ever before, become twosides of the same coin: accidents are notonly undesirable outcomes in themselves;they also have a negative impact on thesupply chain that is at the heart of the newglobal economy. Seen in this light, IMO’sresponsibility to ensure the highestpracticable, globally acceptable, standards

that will improve maritime safety andsecurity and, at the same time, help preventmarine pollution takes on a new dimension.

Shipping in the 21st century is the safest andmost environmentally benign form ofcommercial transport. Commitment to safetyhas long pervaded virtually all deep seashipping operations and shipping wasamongst the very first industries to adoptwidely implemented international safetystandards.

From the mid-19th century onwards, anumber of international maritimeagreements were adopted. A treaty of 1863,for example, introduced certain commonnavigational procedures that ships shouldfollow, when encountering each other at sea,so as to avoid collision, and was signed bysome 30 countries. And the infamous Titanicdisaster of 1912 spawned the first Safety ofLife at Sea - or SOLAS - Convention, which,albeit completely modified and updated, andnowadays within the responsibility of IMO,is still the most important internationalinstrument addressing maritime safety today,covering, among others, such areas as shipdesign, construction and equipment,subdivision and stability, fire protection,radiocommunications, safety of navigation,carriage of cargoes (including dangerouscargoes), safety management and maritimesecurity.

The overall safety record of shipping hasbeen improving steadily for many years.Take, for example, the numbers of ships lostin maritime casualties: according to casualtystatistics produced by Lloyds Register ofShipping (and latterly by LR-Fairplay),between 1966 and 1985 there were neverfewer than 300 ships lost annually. The worstyears, 1978 and 1979, together saw 938losses at a ration of 6.7 ships per thousand inthe world fleet. In 1959, when IMO began,the ratio of vessels lost was running at 5 perthousand vessels. The number andpercentage of losses began to dipsignificantly in 1980 and has continued on adownward curve ever since. In 1990, thenumber of annual losses dipped under 200,at 2.4 per thousand vessels. By 2000 thefigure had further decreased to 167 at 1.9 perthousand ships. By 2004, the overall figurehad approached the 100 mark.

Panamax tankers, like Stena Companion, are among the workhorses of theshipping industry (Stena Bulk)

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In fact, relatively few ships actually sink atsea. The vast majority of so-called “losses”are actually those which are damaged and“written off” by the hull insurers as beingbeyond economical repair – described byunderwriters as “constructive total losses”.

Furthermore, figures produced by the UnitedKingdom P&I Club, which insures around20% of the world's ships, reveal similarreductions in insurance claims for thirdparty liability, such as incidents involvingpersonal injury, cargo damage, pollution ordamage to property (e.g. other ships or portequipment). The decrease in the number oflarge claims is all the more significant giventhe increasing value of claims that are made.

Figures from the International Salvage Unionalso confirm that safety at sea has improveddramatically in recent years. According tothem, the numbers of major ship casualtiesand significant pollution incidents havedecreased sharply. In 1974 there were 26 oilspills in excess of 700 tonnes. In 2004, therewere just five such spills.

As in all transport sectors, lives are sadlylost as a result of accidents. However, theloss of life in shipping is in fact relativelymodest and the overall trend is one ofreduction in the number of fatalities, whichis all the more impressive in view of thegrowth in the number of ships in the worldfleet. Figures from LR Fairplay relating tolives lost on cargo ships show a continuing

downward trend – and this covers the entireinternational industry, which employs overone and a quarter million people, plus manymore employed in coastal trades.

Shipping is one of the least environmentallydamaging forms of commercial transportand, compared with the land-based industry,is a comparatively minor contributor tomarine pollution from human activities.There has been a substantial reduction inmarine pollution over the last 15 years,especially with regard to the amount of oilspilled into the sea, again despite a massiveincrease in world seaborne trade.

It is estimated that land based discharge(sewage, industrial effluent and urban/riverrun off etc.) and atmospheric inputs fromland industry sources account for some 77%of marine pollution generated from humanactivities. In contrast, maritime transport isonly responsible for some 12% of the totaland further reduction of this figure isvigorously pursued. The shipping industry isalso a relatively small contributor to thetotal volume of atmospheric emissionscompared to road vehicles and publicutilities such as power stations whileatmospheric pollution from ships hasreduced in the last decade. There have beensignificant improvements in engineefficiency. Improved hull design and the useof ships with larger cargo carrying capacitieshave led to a reduction in emissions and anincrease in fuel efficiency. Moreover, a new

annex to IMO’s MARPOL (Marine Pollution)Convention entered into force this year,setting formal limits on sulphur oxide (SOx)and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions fromship-generated (bunkers or engine) exhaustsand prohibiting deliberate emissions ofozone-depleting substances.

In the future, improvements in hull designare expected to lead to further reductions infuel oil consumption with consequentreductions in air pollution. The latest marineengines give a 30%-40% reduction indischarges of nitrogen oxide, withreductions of 60% likely in the future.

In those sectors where it competes directlywith other means of transport, shippingremains by far the most energy efficient.Research undertaken by the United KingdomGovernment, for example, has demonstratedthat energy consumption of road transportby truck lies in the range 0.7 to 1.2Megajoules/tonne-km. By comparison, theconsumption of a 3,000 dwt coastal tanker at14 knots is about 0.3 Mj/tonne-km and thatof a medium-size containership at 18.5 knotsis about 0.12 Mj/tonne km.

Looking at the larger picture, there can beno doubt that transport and communicationare crucial for sustainable development inthe global environment. Sustainabledevelopment calls for economic and socialsystems in which the consumption of theenvironment and natural resources isreduced to a permanently affordable level,while economic output, which is aprerequisite to meeting society’s materialrequirements, is maintained.

In order to gauge the sustainability ofshipping, it is necessary to evaluate thecontribution the activity as a whole makes toglobal economic and social prosperity andweigh that against any detrimental effect itmay have on the environment and in otherrespects. The ideal situation must be toachieve the maximum possible contributionon the one hand, at minimal consequentexpense on the other.

If shipping were to consume environmentalcapital (in the form of pollution) or socialcapital (by being an inherently unsafeactivity that costs thousands of lives eachyear) or economic capital (perhaps throughThe Queen Mary II represents all that is the very finest in modern shipping

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enormous insurance premiums and massiveclaims) to a greater extent than its overallpositive contribution, then clearly it couldnot be considered “sustainable”. However, inthis respect, shipping has an excellentrecord. Furthermore, there is no viablealternative to shipping and so any steps thatcan be taken towards making shipping asafer, more efficient and moreenvironmentally-friendly activity can onlyincrease, overall, the positive contributionthe activity makes to global sustainabilityand to sustainable development.

Accidents do, of course, unfortunatelyhappen from time to time and, when they do,they may result in loss of life and damage tothe environment. However, every occasion inwhich a ship – any ship – becomes involvedin a pollution incident or a major casualtymust be set against the literally billions oftrouble-free, clean and economicallyefficient tonne-miles that shipping achievesevery day, and all the consequent benefitsthat accrue from this activity.

Seafarers today

On World Maritime Day, it is important tocelebrate not only the vital contribution thatships and shipping make to the prosperityand well-being of us all but also the men andwomen who take on the onerous task ofoperating them.

The worldwide population of seafarers servingon internationally trading merchant shipstoday is estimated to be in the order of 400,000officers and 825,000 ratings. The OECDcountries (North America, Western Europe,Japan etc.) remain the most important sourcefor officers although growing numbers ofofficers are now recruited from other Far-Eastern countries and from Eastern Europe.

As far as ratings are concerned they are, inthe majority, recruited from developingcountries, especially the Far East. ThePhilippines alone provides almost 20% of theglobal maritime workforce. China and Indiaare also significant maritime labour supplynations, with many seafarers from thesecountries enjoying employmentopportunities on foreign flag ships operatedby international shipping companies.

Given the enormous responsibility those incommand have both for the very lives of

those they carry on passenger ships, andthose who serve with them and for theenvironment, not to mention the commercialsuccess of the enterprise in which they areengaged, it requires a very special kind ofperson to take up the challenge of aseafaring career – especially these dayswhen ships, because of their capacity tocarry passengers in their thousands andcargoes in hundreds of thousands of tons,have the potential to cause enormous loss oflife or environmental catastrophes ofunimaginable dimensions.

The sea can be an unforgiving environmentand, over the centuries, its rigours haveencouraged seafarers to build a tradition ofselfless endeavour and of high regard forothers, particularly those who findthemselves in difficulty or distress. It is atradition that persists today – indeed, IMO isto establish a special award for courage atsea, to recognize those who, at the risk oflosing their own life, commit acts of extremebravery to rescue persons in distress at seaor to prevent catastrophic pollution of theenvironment thus exhibiting virtues of selfsacrifice in line with the highest traditions atsea and the humanitarian aspect of shipping.

In 2005, we have also witnessed thehumanitarian aspect of shipping at work in thetremendous response of the maritime

community and industries, both in kind and indirect financial terms, to last year’s dreadfulBoxing Day tsunami tragedy in the Indian Ocean.

The work of IMO

Shipping is perhaps the most international ofall the world’s great industries. The ownershipand management chain surrounding anyparticular vessel can embrace many differentcountries; it is not unusual to find that theowners, operators, shippers, charterers,insurers and the classification society, not tomention the officers and crew, are all ofdifferent nationalities and that none of theseis from the country whose flag flies at theship’s stern.

There is, therefore, an over-arching logic infavour of a framework of internationalstandards to regulate shipping – standardswhich can be adopted, accepted,implemented and enforced by all. Withoutinternationally recognized and acceptedstandards, you might have the ludicroussituation that a ship leaves country A boundwith cargo for country B, fully compliantwith country A’s requirements for shipdesign, construction, equipment, manningand operation, only to find that country B hasits own, different requirements. Clearly therehas to be a common approach, so that shipscan ply their trade around the world and that

The ubiquitous container has revolutionised the transport of cargo and containerships are now key components in aworld-wide international logistics network

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countries receiving foreign ships can beconfident that, in accepting them, they do notplace their safety, security and environmentalintegrity at an unreasonable risk.

The first attempts at such a commonapproach date back to well beyond theformation of IMO. But it was not until theestablishment of the Organization after WorldWar II that there was a recognized,international body to address such concerns.Since its formation, IMO’s main task has beento develop and maintain a comprehensiveregulatory framework for internationalshipping. Its mandate was originally limited tosafety-related issues, but subsequently itsremit has expanded to embraceenvironmental considerations, legal matters,technical co-operation, issues that affect theoverall efficiency of shipping – such as how todeal with stowaways or how a cargo manifestshould be transmitted to the authoritiesashore; piracy and armed robbery againstships and, most recently, maritime security.

The direct output of IMO’s regulatory workis a comprehensive body of internationalconventions, supported by literally hundredsof guidelines and recommendations that,between them, govern just about every facetof the shipping industry.

It is impossible to generalize with completeaccuracy but, broadly speaking, IMOmeasures fall into three categories. Thereare those aimed primarily at the preventionof accidents, casualties and environmentaldamage from ships in the first place. Thisgroup comprises conventions settingstandards for ship design, construction,equipment, operation and manning. Thenthere is a series of measures whichrecognize that accidents do happen, despitethe best efforts of all concerned and which,therefore, try to mitigate their negativeeffects. Rules concerning distress and safetycommunications, the provision of search andrescue facilities and oil spill clean-up andresponse mechanisms, all fall into thiscategory. The final group is concerned withthe aftermath of accidents and, in particular,with establishing a mechanism for ensuringthat those who suffer the consequences ofan accident – and this refers, in particular,although not exclusively, to pollution victims– can be adequately compensated.

Although IMO does nothave a massive fieldpresence, theOrganization as awhole does recognizethat not all of itsMembers have anequal ability toimplement themeasures they agree toat IMO. Some lack resources, some lackexpertise, some both. To this end, IMO hasestablished an extensive technical co-operation programme, in which it tries toidentify particular needs among theresource-shy Member countries and matchthem to offers of help and assistance fromthose that are better off. Typically, this mightinvolve arranging training, workshops andseminars on particular subjects at national,sub-regional or regional level. IMO has alsofounded three high-level educationalestablishments in Sweden, Malta and Italy,specializing in maritime subjects, which aredesigned principally to offer advanced leveleducation in maritime subjects to studentsfrom less developed countries.

The list of shipping-related topics that fallunder the aegis of IMO is huge. But thereare, of course, some things that theOrganization is not. It is not, for example, apolice force; it does not have the mandate orthe capacity to put teams of inspectorsaboard ships and check their compliancewith international standards. It is not“operational” in the sense that it does notfollow incidents and accidents at sea, suchas groundings, collisions, explosions etc. ona 24-hour basis, and it is not a court; there isan International Tribunal for the Law of theSea, in Hamburg, but this is establishedunder the United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea (UNCLOS) which is not anIMO Convention. IMO does not get involvedwith issues such as territorial waters, EEZsor fishing rights. Again, these are regulatedby UNCLOS and fall within the remit ofother international organizations.

To a considerable extent, this success storyof shipping in terms of its improving safetyand environmental record can be attributedto the comprehensive framework of rules,regulations and standards developed overmany years by IMO, through international

collaboration among its Members and withfull industry participation. It is thanks in nosmall measure to the Organization’soutcomes that all those millions of trouble-free tonne-miles referred to earlier arepossible. Just about every technical aspectof shipping is covered by an IMO measure,from the drawing board to scrapyard.Every single piece of this all-embracingregulatory structure makes a contributiontowards the overall sustainability ofshipping and is a testimony to the highlyresponsible attitude that pervades theactivity of shipping and the industry ofshipping at all levels.

The public image of shipping

Of all the sectors that make up the globaltransport infrastructure, shipping probablyhas the lowest public profile and the leastrepresentative public image. In thedeveloped world, most people are familiarwith the rituals and the frustrations of airtravel; railway trains not only cross vastempty plains but also rattle through busycities and suburban towns; and the lorries,cars and vans that crowd onto the roadnetwork are simply a part of everyday life.By contrast, most people never encounter aship, except perhaps for the occasional tripon a ferry. Even in the case of coastal cities,as ships grew exponentially in size, the latterhalf of the 20th century witnessed amigration of maritime traffic from traditionalport areas to purpose-built, dedicated sitesaway from the main centres of population.To all intents and purposes, shipping is “outof sight and out of mind”.

It is a pity, although perhaps inevitable in aworld where good news is no news, that it isthe accidents which tend to make theheadlines and inform public opinion. An oiltanker, for example, can be either a menacingpollution accident waiting to happen, filled to

Shipping is safer and more environmentally friendly than other forms of transport

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the brim with a scarce natural resource thatwe should be preserving, not plundering; or, amodern, clean, safe and efficient carrier ofthe vital energy resource that provides thepower we need in order to enjoy the comfortand living standards we expect from life inthe 21st century - it just depends on whichway you look at it.

The former European Union TransportCommissioner, Lord Kinnock, had somepertinent comments to make when headdressed the centenary celebrations of theshipping industry body BIMCO at IMOheadquarters earlier this year. Among otherthings, he observed that “much of the worldcommunity, particularly its electedrepresentatives, most of the time, in mostcases, appear to be blissfully unaware of thesignificance of sea transport to the civilization,consumption and production of the world.”

Yet, shipping actually has a very positivestory to tell. In terms of efficiency, safety, theenvironment and its contribution to globaltrade, shipping is unmatched by any othertransport sector. Overall, quality is high andgetting higher – and, yet, it always seems tobe the small minority, at the lower end of thescale, that grab the headlines and –unfortunately – shape public opinions.

What tends to be overlooked is that vastsupplies of seaborne oil, for example, are

needed every day, literally to fuel the livesand lifestyles we have become accustomedto. The real picture is revealed in industryfigures which show that 60 per cent of theannual world oil consumption of 3.6 billiontonnes is transported by sea and, of this,99.9997 per cent is delivered safely.

The challenges ahead

Gazing into a crystal ball to glimpse thefuture may be nothing more than a parlourgame but even so-called experts with thebenefit of experience, research and properacademic discipline have found trends in thetransport industries notoriously hard topredict with any accuracy. In 1838, forexample, the philosopher, physicist andastronomer Dionysius Lardner told theBritish Association for the Advancement ofScience that “Men might as well project avoyage to the moon as attempt to employsteam navigation against the stormy northAtlantic Ocean.” In similar vein is thestatement by Lord Kelvin in 1895 that“heavier-than-air flying machines areimpossible” and that he would not have “thesmallest molecule of faith in aerialnavigation other than ballooning…”.

History may be the harshest of judges butfew commentators today would consider itreckless to predict that no form ofcommercial transport is likely to emerge to

challenge shipping as the carrierof world trade in the foreseeablefuture. Nevertheless, shippingcannot afford to be complacentand the shipping community ispreparing to face up to someimportant challenges in thecoming years.

There will, for example,undoubtedly be a continuingand growing emphasis placed onenvironmental protection,emanating from public pressureand expectations, and affectingthe international regulatoryframework adopted throughIMO. Matters such as the readysupply of appropriate fuel toensure compliance with the newair pollution requirements; thedevelopment of environmentallyfriendly hull coatings in

The modern seafarer is a highly trained professional, but a challenge forthe future is to secure the long-term supply of human resource for theindustry

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compliance with the IMO’s Anti-FoulingConvention and improved ballast watermanagement methods will all have animpact. But the shipping industry is aresponsible one and it will adjust to thesenew international requirementsconscientiously and effectively.

As far as maritime security is concerned, it isappropriate to recall, once again, the wordsof UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in hisreport to the up-coming September WorldSummit. He says: “We will not enjoydevelopment without security, we will notenjoy security without development, and wewill not enjoy either without respect forhuman dignity. Unless all these causes areadvanced, none will succeed.”

In the current global climate the challengefor the maritime community in this respectwill be twofold: on the one hand, to ensurethat security consciousness and heightenedvigilance become so ingrained as to becomesecond nature; and, on the other, to achievean effective and workable balance betweensecurity measures, which inevitably imposea degree of inconvenience, and the free anduninterrupted flow of maritime traffic –which does, after all, underpin the entireglobal economy. Maintaining strategicallyvital sea passages, such as the MalaccaStrait, as trouble-free shipping routes is ofcrucial importance to everyone, not justthose involved in shipping. Failure in thisrespect could result in very seriousconsequences indeed.

Another important issue that has to be facedwithout delay is whether or not the physicalassets and the infrastructures of the shippingand port industries are able to adapt quicklyenough to keep pace with changes in globaltrading patterns and, more fundamentally,

whether it is commercially sensible to equipfor levels of activity and for patterns ofactivity that may or may not be long-lasting.Commercial considerations of this naturehave always vexed the maritime industriesand they will continue to be among the issuesthat will dominate them over the next decade.

Two other key challenges are also emerging.First, there is the question of how to securethe industry’s future manpower resource –adequate in numbers, properly trained andof sufficient calibre to operate theincreasingly sophisticated and valuable shipsalready in service and those that will emergeover the next decade. This will be crucial.

And, second, the innovative use ofinformation technology to combineenvironmental, safety, operational andnavigational systems and data in ways that weare only just beginning to explore, will have amajor impact on shipping. The informationrevolution seems set to take hold of shippingover the next decade and will present newways of blending economic and safetyconsiderations into common applications.

One very important challenge that facesIMO, but which again has potentially far-reaching consequences, is the preservationof unity among the Organization’s Members.As stressed earlier on, the very structure ofshipping, in which the prime assetsphysically move between countries, betweendifferent regions of the world and, therefore,between different legal regimes, makesinternationally agreed and universallyapplied standards an absolute pre-requisite.There is simply no room for unilateralism oreven regionalism in the regulation ofshipping – unless, of course, the need forregional standards has been recognized andsanctioned by IMO itself, such as in the case

of the Stockholm Agreement ro-ro passengership damage stability standards or theMARPOL Special Areas and ParticularlySensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs), and so on.

IMO was founded to provide a global forumfor Governments to meet, discuss, exchangeviews and conclude the adoption ofinternational technical standards, which,once ratified through national legislation,these same Governments must respect andimplement throughout. Through IMO,countries with maritime interests consent tobe bound by international conventions onmaritime safety and protection of the marineenvironment which they themselves developand adopt (at the international (IMO) level)and ratify (at the national level). Indeed, onhis appointment, IMO Secretary-GeneralEfthimios E. Mitropoulos said that heconsidered the preservation of unity amongthe IMO Members as his paramount duty. Aunited membership finds it easier to makedecisions by consensus and standardsadopted by consensus stand a good chanceof being implemented widely and effectivelyglobally, which is what an industry asinternational as shipping needs.

Conclusion

For IMO, creating the conditions in whichinternational shipping can operate safely,securely and with a minimal impact on theglobal environment remains theOrganization’s mission. Through thediligence, expertise and commitment of allthose involved in any capacity in theOrganization, considerable, measurablesuccess towards these goals has beenachieved and will continue into the future.

Shipping affects us all. No matter where youmay be in the world, if you look around you itis almost certain that you will see somethingthat either has been or will be transported bysea, whether in the form of raw materials,components or the finished article.

The sea knows no international boundariesand, although most maritime enterprisetakes place out of sight of land, the ship is asimportant now as it ever was, perhaps moreso. Standards of living in the industrializedand developed world, the jobs andlivelihoods of billions in the developingworld: all depend on ships and shipping.

Today’s clean, safe and efficient modern ships underpin the global economy and are truly the carriers of global trade

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34 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

Portraits of former IMOSecretaries-General unveiled

IMO At Work

Mr Ove Nielsen (Denmark) Mr William Graham (United Kingdom)

Mr Jean Rouillier (France) Sir Colin Goad (United Kingdom)

Secretary-General Emeritus Dr. C.P Srivastava (India)

Secretary-General Emeritus Mr William O'Neil (Canada)

Portraits in oil of the six former Secretaries-General ofIMO have been unveiled during a special ceremony

held to coincide with the 94th session of the IMO Council.

The portraits of Mr Ove Nielsen from Denmark (IMOSecretary-General 1959-1961); Mr William Graham fromthe United Kingdom (Acting Secretary-General 1961-1963);Mr Jean Roullier from France (1963-1967); Sir Colin Goadfrom the United Kingdom (1968-1973); Dr ChandrikaPrasad Srivastava from India (1974-1989); and Mr WilliamA. O’Neil from Canada (1990-2003) were painted by RobertLloyd, a British artist who specializes in maritime subjects.

A leading shipowner, who has indicated that he wishes toremain anonymous, generously sponsored the artist’swork.

Speaking at the unveiling, IMO Secretary-General Mr.Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said that the portraits had beencommissioned to pay tribute to the former Secretaries-General of the Organization and to recognize the heritagethat, collectively, they have created.

“IMO’s position in the maritime world, its ‘quiet successes’as they were described by Secretary-General Kofi Annanwhen he visited IMO last February, and the credibility ofits outcomes have been founded on its ability to developtechnically sound and practicable measures. It is,therefore, fitting that we should recognize the part playedin this by those who have led the Organization during theirtenure, from the day IMO came into being to the mostrecent times,” he said.

The ceremony was attended by Secretary-GeneralEmeritus, Mr O’Neil.

Secretary-General Emeritus Dr. Srivastava was unable toattend in person, but was represented by his daughter, MrsKalpana Srivastava. Also present were Mr. Jean-EudesRoullier and Mr. Philippe Roullier, sons of Mr Roullier, andMr. Peter Goad, son of Sir Colin.

Mr. Mitropoulos expressed his hope that, as with theSeafarers’ Memorial, the portraits will provide a source ofinspiration to staff, delegates and visitors alike, serving as areminder of the contribution these individuals have madeto the success of IMO and as a tribute to their tirelessefforts to promote safety, security and environmentalprotection.

“The course of IMO’s history can be traced through theirrespective tenures of office and the achievements of eachof them, in their time, reflect the achievements of theOrganization in its perennial quest to attain its objectives.Each, in his own way, has put his strong mark on theevolution of IMO,” he said.

The portraits will be placed on permanent display at IMOHeadquarters.

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36 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

IMO at work

The foundation stone of a new maritimetraining institute for LNG operations has

been laid by IMO Secretary-GeneralEfthimios E. Mitropoulos during an officialvisit to Egypt last week at the invitation ofTransport Minister Dr Essam Sharaf. Hisprogramme included the renewal of aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) ontechnical co-operation matters between Egyptand IMO, a visit to a number of importantEgyptian maritime centres and meetings withkey officials from Egypt’s maritime andpolitical communities.

The new LNG training facility will form partof the Arab Academy for Science, Technology& Maritime Transport (AASTMT) in AbuQuir, Alexandria. Commenting on this latestdevelopment, Mr Mitropoulos praised theAcademy and expressed his appreciation toDr. Gamal Mokhtar, President of AASTMT,for his leadership, foresight and vision increating a new training centre to serve suchan expanding maritime sector. He alsoexpressed his confidence that the new facilitywould make a significant contribution to theexcellent training that students at theAcademy receive and would represent animportant addition to the diversity ofmaritime-related career training available.

The new facility is expected to becomeoperational during the first half of 2006, andwill complement the existing amenities at theAcademy’s Maritime Complex, which includethe College of Maritime Transport &Technology, the Integrated SimulatorsComplex, the Maritime Safety Centre and theRegional Maritime Examination Centre.

During his visit, Mr. Mitropoulos haddiscussions with Minister Essam, whichculminated in the signing of a renewed andexpanded MoU on technical co-operationbetween the Ministry of Transport, theAASTMT and IMO.

Among the activities included under the termsof the MoU, AASTMT and IMO will, during2006/2007, jointly organize two regionalseminars for simulator instructors frommaritime academies of the Arab/Mediterraneanregion; they will also implement and deliver afour-week training course for ship inspectorsfrom the region on the inspection of non-

Convention ships, as well as a one-week course to train auditors fromArab/Mediterranean countries onpreparation for and participation inthe IMO Voluntary Member StateAudit Scheme. A draft regionalStrategic Action Plan for the controland management of ships’ ballastwater and sediments will bedeveloped and a regional task forceestablished.

The MoU will also see theGovernment of Egypt, represented

by AASTMT, grant scholarships for sixstudents from Africa to enrol in theAcademy’s four-year programme leading tothe award of a bachelor’s degree on maritimenavigation, at a cost over US$100,000. TheGovernment of Egypt has undertaken tocontribute a total of US$50,000 over five yearsfor the implementation of technical co-operation activities as well as US$30,000 forthe delivery of a regional course for thetraining of the auditors to assist in theoperation of the IMO Scheme.

While in Egypt, Mr Mitropoulos also visitedthe headquarters of the Suez Canal Authorityin Ismailia. He was updated on recentdevelopments on traffic, safety and securitymatters by the Chief of the Authority,Admiral Ahmed Ali Fadel; and visited theCanal Simulation Centre used for the trainingand retraining of Suez Canal pilots.

Secretary-General lays foundationfor LNG training in Egypt

Vice-Admiral Francisco Martínez Villaroel,Director General of Chile’s maritime

authority Directemar, and IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos sign anaddendum to the Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) between the twoOrganizations at IMO headquarters in London.

The MoU formalizes the close co-operationbetween Directemar and IMO in theexecution of technical assistance activities inthe Latin American countries, in particularwith regard to the introduction of the GlobalSAR Plan in all IMO Member States. Underthe agreement, Directemar will, dependingon the availability of its personnel andfacilities, designate appropriate experts, on ano fee basis, for the execution of variousactivities, such as advisers for consultancymissions or instructors for the delivery ofcourses, seminars and workshops.

IMO, Chile extend technicalco-operation understanding

humanitarian customs of the sea. He said“Seafarers have always gone to the aid oftheir fellows in distress and this mostgenerous gesture on the part of the Unionof Greek Shipowners is truly in the spirit ofthat tradition.”

The Tsunami Maritime Relief Fund wasestablished by Secretary-GeneralMitropoulos early in January in order to co-ordinate the maritime community’s widerresponse to the UN’s immediate efforts.Contributions have come in from theshipping industry, the IMO staff andindividuals and the Fund remains open toprovide assistance for the longer term taskof capacity building in the affected maritimecommunities. A previous donation from theTsunami Maritime Relief Fund was made byMr Mitropoulos to UN Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan in April when the two met inSwitzerland and Mr Mitropoulos handedover to Mr Annan a cheque for £86,580 to beused for the restoration of the maritimeinfrastructure in the region affected and thereconstruction of the devastated fishingindustry in the Indian Ocean.

Greek owners to give massiveboost to tsunami fund

The Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) isto donate a sum of at least one million

U.S. dollars to the Tsunami Maritime ReliefFund that was inaugurated by IMO in thewake of the 2004 Boxing Day disaster.

In a letter to IMO Secretary-GeneralEfthimios E. Mitropoulos, pledging thedonation, UGS President Mr Nicos D.Efthymiou spoke of the shock that theGreek shipping community had feltfollowing the disaster and stressed theimportance of providing material help.

He said “Words of condolence and theextension of sympathy alone cannot fill thegap and alleviate the grief and sufferingcurrently experienced by the people of theregion, especially as they now start torebuild their livelihoods.”

The Greek donation will be dispensed aftermutual consultations between IMO andUGS and taking into account the prioritiesof specific projects in areas of need in theIndian Ocean.

In thanking the UGS for its donation, MrMitropoulos drew parallels with the age-old

Secretary-General Mitropoulos lays the foundation stone for a newLNG college with Dr Gamel Mokhtar (far left) and Dr Essam Sharaf

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www.imo.org. No.3 2005 IMO NEWS 37

Korea givessecurity fund boost

of Finland VTMIS as well as the oil export portsof Primorsk and Visotsk.

On his return to IMO Headquarters in London,Mr Mitropoulos expressed his appreciation forthe concern shown by the Russian Federationover environmental issues, particularly at theport of Primorsk, and of the systems it has put inplace to ensure the protection of the marineenvironment, such as the collection ofinformation and laboratory examination andanalysis of the ballast water of incoming tankersand the strict measures applied in the case oftankers found to be carrying ballast waterexceeding the levels required to allow discharge.

He added, “The work done to safeguard life andthe environment in the Gulf of Finland, in co-operation with the Governments of the two otherlittoral States, Estonia and Finland, in designing,installing and seeking IMO’s approval andadoption, as appropriate, of an integrated VesselTraffic Management and Information System,AIS and GMDSS stations and RCCs, mandatoryship reporting systems and routeing measures,including traffic separation schemes, should berecognized and appreciated.”

Mitropoulos visit confirms continuedRussian support for IMO initiatives

During his week-long official visit to theRussian Federation in July, IMO Secretary-

General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos receivedpledges of continued support for a full range ofIMO activities, including the important IMOVoluntary Member State Audit Scheme.

In a packed programme that included high-leveltalks as well as a series of visits to key Russianmaritime centres, Mr. Mitropoulos receivedrepeated assurances of the Russian Government’sfirm intention to continue supporting thedevelopment and adoption of global standards forshipping engaged in international trade onlythrough IMO and for the work programme andinitiatives of the Organization.

Among the senior figures with whom Mr.Mitropoulos enjoyed productive talks during hisvisit were Mr. M. E. Fradkov, Prime Minister ofthe Russian Federation; Mr. I. E. Levitin,Minister of Transport and Mr. A.N. Chelingarov,Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of theRussian Federation. He also met the Governorof St. Petersburg, Mrs. V.I. Matvienko; Mr. S.Frank, Chairman of Sovcomflot, as well assenior representatives from the RussianMaritime Register of Shipping.

In addition to his visit to Moscow, MrMitropoulos also went to Murmansk, where hesaw a demonstration of the VTS system in KolaBay and visited the nuclear icebreaker Rossia;and St Petersburg, where he was shown the Gulf

Mr. Il Young-Chung, Director-General, Ministry of MaritimeAffairs, Republic of Korea, presents a US$50,000 cheque toIMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos as adonation to the IMO security fund.

management of Ghana Ports & HarboursAuthority invited tenders from the privatesector and Tilbury Environmental Group(TEG) were awarded the concession on aBuild, Operate and Transfer basis. Today thefacility is in full operation in Tema Port.

The Ghanaian delegation to MEPC 53, andTEG made a joint presentation on the projectduring the meeting, illustrating the success ofthe venture from technical assistance by IMOto a Member State to full implementation ofthe resulting recommendations, including theinvolvement of the private sector.

IMO assists Ghana port in reception facility project

AMARPOL reception facility is now fullyoperational in Tema Port, Ghana, as a

result of an IMO technical co-operationproject.

The project began in 2000 when the IMORegional Co-ordinator based in Accra, Ghanamobilised some funds from the UNDPcountry office for a feasibility study on theestablishment of a MARPOL ReceptionFacility in Ghana's ports. IMO recruited aconsultant for the feasibility study and themission report was subsequently forwardedto the Ghanaian Government. The

PORT STATE CONTROLLONDON, 3 –13 April 2006

This widely recognised and practical intensive course is now in its 18th successive year. The course is designed especially forofficials in national marine departments, port or terminal operators, ship managers and shipowners.

The course covers in detail the major IMO conventions and codes along with other relevant international regulations andconventions, inspection systems and documentation. Special sections of the course concentrate on the ISPS code.

The Course is taught by an experienced team of academics and practitioners from the UK, USA and Europe.

Venue: Senate House, University of London

Fees: Sterling £2,650

The course is conducted by the Centre for Maritime Co-operation of the International Chamber of Commerce. Further details can be obtained from:

Miss Angeles Aguado, Course Co-ordinator

ICC Centre for Maritime Co-operation, Maritime House, 1 Linton Road, Barking, Essex IG11 8HG, United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 20 8591 3000 Fax: + 44 20 8594 2833 E-mail [email protected] Web www.icc-ccs.org

IMO At Work

Secretary-General Mitropoulos meets Russian Ministerof Transport Mr. I. E. Levitin during his recent visit

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38 IMO NEWS No.3 2005 www.imo.org.

IMO helps children speak out onmarine environment at world summit

International Shipping -Carrier of World Trade

As a result of an initiative from theInternational Maritime Organization and a

number of Marine Environment ProtectionAgencies (MEPAs), four IMO childambassadors have presented messages onbehalf of these organizations to the Children’sWorld Summit for the Environment in Aichi,Japan. The Children’s Summit was organized bythe United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) to run concurrently with the WorldExposition 2005 (26 to 29 July 2005), the themeof which was “Nature’s Wisdom.”

The four children were Nikolaos Theofilidisfrom Greece, sponsored by HELMEPA Junior;Çagla Gamze Seten and Beril Esen fromTurkey, sponsored by TURMEPA Junior andNikolas Adami, sponsored by CYMEPA Junior.

At the Summit, the children read out a shortmessage about MEPA Junior activities andthe relationship between IMO’s marineenvironment protection activities and theoverall themes of the Summit. They alsoexpanded on the practical ways that MEPAsare helping to protect the marineenvironment.

The participation of the four children in theSummit will help boost public awareness ofIMO’s role in protecting the marineenvironment from pollution by ships and, in

particular, will help get the message across toyounger generations.

Overall, the summit gave the children attendingthe conference, as well as all children aroundthe world, an opportunity to considerenvironmental issues. Through the Internet andby other means, the children worked with theJapanese organizing committee in promotingdiscussion about the conference’s themes anddetails in advance of the summit.

The goals of the Summit itself were to increasechildren’s understanding of environmentalissues through the sharing of experiences andopinions; to improve the environment bysharing best practices and encouraging newinitiatives; to give the children of the world achance to forge lifelong friendships; to provideopportunities for children to collectively voicetheir concerns for the environment and toinspire children to think globally and act locally.

It is expected that the four IMO childambassadors will report the outcomes of theSummit to the IMO’s Marine EnvironmentProtection Committee (MEPC) in the nearfuture. The initiative has already generatedmuch interest in the MEPA Junior concept andit is hoped that it will encourage theestablishment of more Junior MEPAs in thefuture, in other regions of the world.

The President of The Nippon Foundation of Japan, Mr. YoheiSasakawa, gave a special presentation on “Maritime Human

Resource Development and its Future” on Tuesday, 21 June 2005 atIMO headquarters in London.

The Nippon Foundation is a non-profit, grant-making organizationestablished for philanthropic purposes. For the past forty years theFoundation has provided aid for humanitarian projects both in Japanand around the world. The global maritime community, in particular,has benefited from the achievements of the training institutionsassociated with IMO and the generous support provided by theNippon Foundation which has made a significant contribution to theirsuccess.

Japanese benefactor addressesMaritime human resources

Left to right: HE Dato’ Abd. Aziz Mohammed, HighCommissioner of Malaysia to London; Mr Mitropoulos,Dato’ Sri Chan Kong Choy, Malaysia Minister ofTransport, Ms Nadzirah, High Commission of Malaysiato London.

Strait security on Malaysia agenda

In a courtesy call to IMO, Mr Sri ChanKong Choy, Malaysia’s Minister of

Transport, discussed the importance of theMalacca Strait to global trade and the worldeconomy and IMO’s efforts aimed atensuring uninterrupted traffic through theStrait with Secretary-General Mitropoulos.The two also discussed the need for supportfor the littoral states, the importance ofMalaysia’s ratification of the SUA Treaties inview of their upcoming revision and theimportance of co-operation amongneighbouring states with regard to safety atsea and the marine environment.

IMO at work

Mr Yohei Sasakawa (front row, 5th left) and Mr Mitropoulos with World MaritimeUniversity graduates during the Maritime Safety Committee meeting

becoming safer and is improving itsenvironmental credentials. Ship losses arefalling, lives lost are decreasing, pollutionincidents and, with them, oil pollution isdown, air pollution and pollution fromsewage are being tackled.

Shipping has always been a potentiallyhazardous and dangerous occupation andship operators today have new factors andnew pressures to contend with. Thestructure of the global marketplace requiresthat goods and materials be delivered notonly to the geographical location where theyare required but also within a very precisetimeframe.

As a consequence, safety and efficiency havenow, more than ever before, become twosides of the same coin: accidents are notonly undesirable outcomes in themselves;they also have a negative impact on thesupply chain that is at the heart of the newglobal economy. Seen in this light, IMO’sresponsibility to ensure the highestpracticable, globally acceptable, standardsthat will improve maritime safety andsecurity and, at the same time, help preventmarine pollution takes on a new dimension.

For shipping affects us all. No matter whereyou may be in the world, if you look aroundyou it is almost certain that you will seesomething that either has been or will betransported by sea, whether in the form of rawmaterials, components or the finished article.

The sea knows no international boundariesand, although most maritime enterprisetakes place out of sight of land, the ship is asimportant now as it ever was, perhaps moreso. Standards of living in the industrializedand developed world, the jobs andlivelihoods of billions in the developingworld, all depend on ships and shipping. ForIMO, creating the conditions in whichinternational shipping can operate safely,securely and with a minimal impact on theglobal environment remains our mission.

Continued from page 5

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INTERNATIONALMARITIME

ORGANIZATION

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