Gen Memo: 17/14: BoD 23/14 Minutes / Subscriptions / Safety & Management / Human

Centred Approach / MSC 93 / Australian MET / Self Study

Dear Member,

PLEASE ENSURE THIS MEMO IS WIDELY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN YOUR

INSTITUTION

1 Minutes of BoD 23/14

Attached please find the draft of the minutes of the Board of Directors' meeting held at Akademi

Laut Malaysia (ALAM) on 2 April, to be confirmed at meeting BoD 24/14, scheduled to be held,

together with AGM 12/14, in Manila at the time of the 15th Asia Pacific Manning & Training

Conference during the last week of November 2014.

Please note that the three year terms of the current five elected directors expire at the time of the

AGM. Nominations for directorship of GlobalMET Limited will be called closer to the date of

the meeting.

2 Subscriptions

Members can expect to receive their invoices for the forthcoming financial year in mid-June.

Several still to pay the 2013-2014 subscription are requested to pay as soon as possible please.

3 Vessel Safety, Onboard Management Go Hand-in-Hand - Loss Prevention Mindset

Posted by Greg Trauthwein, MarineLink, May 21, 2014

Attitude change is key to boosting shipping‟s professional image, says Rajaish Bajpaee, CEO,

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM). Ensuring a robust and dependable safety culture

onboard ship is essential to reducing large scale accidents at sea, which is why BSM has placed

seafarer attitude-change at the heart of its loss-prevention strategy.

“Getting your onboard and shore-based management teams to embrace a loss-prevention mind-

set is crucial to the industry goal of no injuries or loss of life, no damage or loss to cargo, no

damage or loss to the ship, and no damage or loss to the environment,” said Rajaish Bajpaee.

He added: “In BSM, we have an elaborate process to select our seafarers with the desired

qualities for a career at sea. However, to ensure they have that moral duty (i.e. the „attitude‟ and

„engagement‟) to themselves, their colleagues and the environment, we actively promote and

embed a loss prevention mind-set which, through continuous learning and development, should

further improve the way they work onboard.”

According to Rajaish Bajpaee, the industry has to do what it takes to make shipping highly

regarded as a professional, intellectually challenging and emotionally satisfying industry to work

in.

“It is important that we reinstall the pride in the seafarer‟s job and make today‟s youngsters

dream of becoming a seafarer with the emphasis back on people. At BSM we entrust our top four

officers and their teams with full accountability onboard because we believe it is essential to

make them fully understand the very important position they hold onboard our ships. This only

serves to deepen their level of sense of identity, belonging, and involvement to be an active and

recognized member,” he said.

4 ‘Human Centred’ Approach Important to Effective Ship Design

Writing in the latest edition of the international maritime human element bulletin Alert!, Dr

Jonathan Earthy of Lloyd‟s Register points out that while competence and leadership are

ingredients in the human element, getting the design right is a “one-time activity”, whether we

are considering the ship or its equipment. Usable equipment should not require heavy training

requirements if the needs of its users has been considered in the design. By contrast, if the needs

of the user have been ignored in the design stage, the demands on training and competence will

be heavy. Please refer to the attachment for more of this welcome approach.

5 InterManager MSC Report

Attached please find the report on MSC 93 by Capt Paddy McKnight, kindly provided by

InterManager

6 Australia withdraws MET funding support

Maritime Trade Intelligence reports that 'A prominent Australian maritime lawyer has criticised

moves by the Federal Government in its latest budget to withdraw funding to support maritime

training needs forAustralian seafarers'.

Commenting on the move, Norton Rose Fulbright partner, Ernest van Buuren (pictured), a

master mariner, said the Australian maritime industry is an unfortunate casualty of the

government's funding cuts. The maritime industry's long awaited funding injection to support

future workforce training needs of local seafarers has been now been cut, with the government

set to achieve savings of A$5 million over three years by not proceeding with funding for the

Sustaining Australia's Maritime Skills measure announced in last year's budget.

The decline, over a number of decades, of the Australian maritime workforce has made it

difficult to competitively recruit, train and employ Australian crews.

Mr van Buuren considers that this budget measure will significantly increase the challenges that

already exist to rebuild a strong Australian maritime capability. The shipping task through

Australian waters is forecast to double by 2029-30 which will substantially increase demand for

maritime technical skills.

7 New Article from Maritime Training Issues

Making Self Study an Explicit Part of all Maritime Training – Part IV

Summary This article is the fourth and last in a short series of articles discussing the huge, but often

ignored benefits of self-study in maritime training. Self-study helps to equalize different

trainee backgrounds, abilities, and knowledge. And, most importantly, explicitly

supporting self-study as a part of a maritime training course or program can improve the

quality and depth of training outcomes.

Read the full blog post here: http://www.marinels.com/about/blog.html

Kind regards

Rod Short

Executive Secretary

GlobalMET Limited

GlobalMET Limited ACN 103 233 754

Board of Directors’ Meeting 23-14

Malacca, Malaysia, 2 April 2014

UNCONFIRMED MINUTES OF MEETING BoD 23-14

The meeting commenced at 1000 hours on 02 April 2014 at Akademi Laut Malaysia

(ALAM), Melaka, Malaysia.

1 Attendance / Apologies/ Agenda

Directors Present

Capt Tim Wilson – New Zealand Maritime School – Chairman

Capt Anura Seneviratne –– Australian Maritime College – Secretary/Treasurer

Mr David Fredrick – Akademi Laut Malaysia

Prof Takahiro Takemoto – Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology

Capt Richard Teo – Individual Member

In Attendance Capt Rod Short – Executive Secretary

Apologies

Apologies from Directors Capt Pradeep Chawla and Mr Swapan Das Sarma were accepted.

Agenda

The proposed agenda was approved.

2 Minutes of BoD 12/14

Resolution 1: The Minutes of Meeting 22/14 were confirmed and signed.

Moved: Richard Teo Seconded: Takahiro Takemoto

3 Matters Arising

It was agreed that any matters arising would be considered under relevant agenda items.

4 Chairman’s Report

The mistake in the 3rd

line of the 2nd paragraph of item 5 was corrected by replacting

‘GlobalMET’ by ‘Maritime Training Services’.

Item 3: the Chairman stated that he was prepared to continue to represent GlobalMET at IMO

HTW meetings and described the new IMO policy with respect to the development of model

courses and a revised template. Members are to be advised of GlobalMET interest in writing

a model course for Leadership and Teamwork at management level and expressions of

interest in participating solicited.

Item 4: following the ExecSec’s expression of concern about no response being received from

the ADB to the initial draft of project concept document sent in early February, it was agreed

that a response should continue to be sought and that it would be appropriate to seek an

enquiry through industry representation as to why there had not been a response.

Item 5: it was agreed that the benefits of relocation of GlobalMET Ltd to an alternative

location such as Singapore would again be identified and the Chairman undertook to prepare a

brief on the organisational needs in this respect, with a view to a recommendation being ready

for consideration at the next Board meeting and also at the 2014 AGM.

Item 6: it was agreed that a concept be developed on how GlobalMET could assist IMO with

the mandatory auditing scheme; this would focus on quality management accreditation,

development of GlobalMET guidelines, development of a pool of GlobalMET accredited

providers, possible initial focus on short course activities with respect to STCW Ch V and the

ancilliary certificates; the Chairman agreed to provide a description by 01 May and David

Fredrick agreed that ALAM could host a two day workshop September/October:; the

possibility of linking into the proposed ADB project was expressed. Capt Seneviratne offered

to provide copies of articulation material for entry into AMC courses

Item 7: it was agreed that at the end of the initial agreement with the Indian Maritime

University on the use of the SSTP books in India that situation would be reviewed; a price for

the use of GlobalMET’s intellectual property is to be agreed for charging irrespective of

which administration has approved usage of the books; at present there is need to facilitate

use of the books in the Philippines and PNG and to obtain an income from the books already

in use in New Zealand.

It was agreed to proceed with other items, including item 10, the TKF funded course to be

conducted at the Maritime Academy for Asia and the Pacific, as indicated.

Resolution 2: it was resolved to receive the Chairman’s Report.

Moved: Anura Seneviratne Seconded: David Fredrick

5 Finance Report

Noting that AGM 10/12 had received the auditor’s Finance Report and attached Financial

Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2012, but that, as BoD 22/13 was held by

circulation, there was need to further clarify the Finance Report. After an extensive

discussion, during which concern was expressed about the overall financial situation,

it was agreed that Anura Seneviratne and Richard Teo would seek a clarification

meeting with auditors Crowe Horwath in Launceston, including the mechanism for

dealing with the liability arising from the non-payments of the ExecSec’s honorarium,

also with a view to the presentation letter to Crowe Horwarh being signed by a

director and the signing of the solvency statement by all directors.

The Finance Committee is to be provided with monthly financial reports.

Resolution 3: The draft budget for 01 February 2014 to 30 June 2014, is to be replaced by a

budget for the period to the end of 2014.

6 Membership

Membership Report BoD 23/14 (6) was received and the meeting was advised that in addition

to six new members since BoD 22/13, an application had been received from the Netherlands

Maritime Institute of Technology in Johor Bahru, Malaysian. It was agreed to remove Dr

Aziz’s name from the list of Honorary Members and that enquiries be made with respect to

Mr Noel Snelleksz’s circumstances. It was also agreed that five members unfinancial for

since the beginning of the last financial year be pursued and their membership cancelled if

they do not become financial by the end of the current financial year.

7 Developments / Strategic Planning

Resolution 4: That collaboration with the ADB continue with agreement on project concept

and implmentation possibly in 2015.

Moved: Richard Teo Seconded: David Fredrick

Item 2: It was agreed to form a working group to review the current organisation, identify

changes, including means of revenue generation and make recommendations to BoD 24/14;

matters to review to include GlobalMET becoming a more professional organisation with

classes of membership, establishing an auditing and accrediting body, replacing the current

website and using Facebook as a communication tool. It was also agreed to formulate a

succession plan for the ExecSec, to take place in 2016.

Resolution 5: That the draft GlobalMET Strategic & Operational Plan be adopted and

progress be reported at BoD 24/14.

Moved: Tim Wilson Seconded: Anura Seneviratne

Resolution 6: It was agreed to review the BWACA material for possible use by GlobalMET.

Resolutions 7 & 8: The matters addressed by both resolutions were discussed and supported

during the discussion on the Chairman’s Report.

Item 7: It was agreed to further collaborate with Capt Martin Burley on the development his

METSA Guidelines and to request the latest revision of the guidelines.

Item 8: The ExecSec reported on his meeting at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

and his intention to continue liaison with repreentatives of the three co-operating states with a

view to development of a chart and possibly other awareness raising material to assist the

SOMS project

8 Secretariat

The Secretariat’s Activity Report for the period 25 March 2013 to 15 March 2014 was

received with an expression of appreciation for the continuing efficient support provided by

the Secretariat.

Resolution 9: It was agreed that, in view of the three yearly election of five directors being

due to take place at AGM 12/14, a contract for Secretariat services to be provided to the end

of 2014 be signed with Core Competency Marine Pve Ltd.

9 BoD 24/14

It was agreed that BoD 24/14 would be held in Manila, in conjunction with AGM 12/14, the

15th Asia Pacific Manning and Training Conference, a meeting with the ADB and a

GlobalMET in the Philippines seminar/conference.

It was recalled that, in recognition of the need for a more global representation on the Board

of Directors, it had been agreed to increase the number of co-opted directors from four to six.

The Executive Secretary is to initiate amendment of the constitution.

10 Other Business

With respect to the Newsletter it was agreed that cover format and overall design be reviewed

and a report tabled for consideration at BoD 24/14. Permision for the use of written material

and images be sought as appropriate. In addition, the use of a GlobalMET Facebook page be

considered to publicise GlobalMET and to generate debate on pedagogical matters.

The liaison with Dalian Maritime University about a GlobalMET in China Conference, in

association with the proposed Oceans Conference to be hosted by the University in mid-

October to continue.

In closing the meeting at 1245 the Chairman expressed heartfelt thanks to all participants for

their support, and also to the Executive Secretary and Secretariat. Particular thanks were

expressed to ALAM for hosting the meeting and as well as for organising the GlobalMET in

Malaysia Conference, to be held on 3rd

and 4th April in Kuala Lumpur.

Resolution

Resolved that these minutes are a true and accurate record of meeting 23/14 of the Board of

Director’s of GlobalMET Limited, held at Akademi Laut Malaysia on on 02 April 2014.

Signature ________________________________ Date ______________________

Capt Tim Wilson, Chair

New Zealand Maritime School

‘Human centred’ approach the key to effective ship design

Maritime Trade Intelligence May 26, 2014 Editor Classification Societies

There is a sort of triangulation behind any successful merchant ship – the designers and shipbuilders,

the customer who will buy the product of their labours and those who will sail on that ship for its

working life. The cynic might suggest that the shipbuilder is looking for a vessel he can build for the

greatest profit, the owner wants the most ship for the cheapest price and the seafarers’ needs are just

part of the collateral damage.

But this does not need to be the case, says Dr Jonathan Earthy of Lloyd’s Register. A good design

and a shipbuilder with a reputation for looking to its customers’ needs will result in a ship that is good

to operate and as such will be successful. It is helped, says Dr Earthy, if the matter of “usability” is

considered from the beginning of the design process, with a “human-centred” approach.

Writing in the latest edition of the international maritime human element bulletin Alert!, Dr Earthy

points out that while competence and leadership are ingredients in the human element, getting the

design right is a “one-time activity”, whether we are considering the ship or its equipment. Usable

equipment should not require heavy training requirements if the needs of its users has been

considered in the design. By contrast, if the needs of the user have been ignored in the design stage,

the demands on training and competence will be heavy.

Human centred design, according to LR’s best practice guides, will revolve around a clear

understanding of the users’ needs, whether it is a ship or its equipment that is being designed. Ideally

there will be the involvement of users in the design process, so that both the designer and

manufacturer are not working in the dark or attaching the wrong priorities of what they think their

product will achieve. “Designing for the user experience” is not some phrase dreamed up to be used

by sale people, but should be a simple statement to the effect that the needs of the users have been

pre-eminent in the design.

The society has produced a Ship Design Guide and Equipment Manufacturers’ Guide that have

human-centred design as an important theme throughout, with practical advice as to how this can be

integrated into a project for either a new ship of marine equipment that will go into it.

There is a consuming logic to this approach, a “virtuous circle” that advances best practice, and in

practical terms, will see better designed ships and equipment coming forward. And while the author

acknowledges that shipyards and manufacturers might not benefit directly from usability in the way

the ship operators do, there is a feedback from the users that can be used to improve subsequent

products. Engaging the user community is also an aid to technical innovation.

Many major companies in other sectors, writes Dr. Earthy, “find that their best ideas come from their

users”.

InterManager IMO Report

The IMO’s Committee on Maritime Safety (MSC) held its 93rd Session (MSC 93) from Wednesday 14 through Friday 23 May 2014 under the Chairmanship of Mr Christian Breinholt (DENMARK) and his Vice Chair, Captain M Segar of SINGAPORE). 104 Member States attended the meeting during which a drafting group (DG) and two working groups (WG) were subsequently formed and chaired as follows:

DG1 Amendments to Mandatory Instruments, Mr Motonobu Tsuchiya (UK)

WG1 Passenger Ship Safety, Mr Brad Groves (AUSTRALIA)

WG2 The Polar Code, Mrs J Stemre (NORWAY)

Following is a selection of salient points which may be of particular interest to InterManager members:

OPENING REMARKS. The Secretary General of IMO Stated that in the past two and a half years, 2,932 lives have been lost in domestic shipping accidents across the world. SOLAS, his highest priority for revision in this its Centenary year, is however not currently applicable to domestic voyages which are within the purview of relevant member governments. Following the COSTA CONCORDIA grounding on 13 January 2012, he promised that the IMO would shortly provide a definitive statement on the incident as the Italian authorities have now finished their entire findings on the cause of the incident.

ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO MANDATORY INSTRUMENTS. The Committee:

a) Endorsed the application requirements of regulations applying to newly constructed and existing ships;

b) Adopted amendments to SOLAS chapters II and XIII and a draft MSC resolution;

c) Adopted amendments to the FSS and LSA Codes, also those relevant to MSC resolutions;

d) Noted editorial modifications to the IBC and IBG Codes;

e) Adopted amendments to the 2011 ESP Code, the IMDG Code, the 1978 STCW Convention and Code and the 1988 Load Lines Protocol;

f) Noted modifications to the BCH Code, additional to those proposed by MEPC 66 to be harmonised by the Secretariat

g) Adopted amendments to the EGC and GC Codes;

h) Adopted an MSC resolution on life-saving appliances;

i) Approved draft MSC circulars on reference test devices (RTD), safety measures for existing vehicle carriers carrying motor vehicles with compressed H2 or natural gas in their tanks for their own propulsion as cargo, and, products requiring oxygen-dependent inhibitors;

j) Approved a circular on Guidance on entry into force of amendments to the 19734 SOLAS Convention. This will implement a four-year cycle commencing on 1 January 2016 with a corresponding entry-into-force date of 1 January 2020; Amendments adopted at the current session will be deemed to have been accepted on 1 July 2015 and enter into force on 1 January 2016.

k) Agreed to establish a WG at MSC 94;

l) Instructed SSE2 to give urgent consideration to the issues related to the scope of application of the LSA Code, reporting its findings to MSC 95. .

MEASURES TO ENHANCE MARITIME SECURITY. The Committee concluded that further work on “Guidelines for the Development of National Security Legislation” is necessary to advise how the provisions can be incorporated better into national legislation. This would give full and complete effect to SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

GOAL BASED NEW SHIP CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS. Future work on further development of the Goal-Based Standards Safety-level Approach (GBS-SLA) regarding development of safety objectives as well as functional requirements for the approval of alternative designs and arrangements for regulations of SOLAS chapter III on life-saving appliances was summarised by GERMANY. The relevant outcome of SSE 1 deliberations will be considered subsequently by the GBS Working Group.

PASSENGER SHIP SAFETY. The Italian delegation stated that they had provided all available information on the investigation of the COSTA CONCORDIA accident and were not planning to provide anything further unless expressly requested to do so by the Committee. WG1’s report was duly considered and actions were taken as follows:

(1) Endorsed the view that the existing goal-based approach with regard to onboard communications in an emergency is sufficient;

(2) Instructed sub-committee III 1 to prioritise its consideration of the COSTA CONCORDIA grounding report and upload lessons learnt on GISIS. Contributory factors, issues raised / lessons learnt and observations on the Human Element should also be brought to MSC 94’s attention.

(3) Agreed that there is no need for a two-phased approach to increase subdivision index R but instructed SDC to continue technical considerations;

(4) Forwarded the EMSA and GOALDS studies, also MSC 93/6/2 containing the report of the FSA Expert Group to the SDC Sub-Committee

(5) Instructed SDC to include the item “double hull in way of main engine-rooms” under existing planned output 5.2.1.13., also “open watertight doors” and “monitoring and assessing risk from operation of watertight doors” under planned output 5.1.1.5.

(6) Instructed HTW to include the item of ”enhanced damage stability training” under existing planned output 5.2.2.2.

(7) Approved a new unplanned output on “the revision of section 3 on damage control plans of the “Guidelines and information to the master” for new and existing passenger ships.

(8) Encouraged Member Governments to inspect SAR cooperation plans on board ships visiting their harbours and compare the information provided with that on the MRCC Falmouth database;

(9) Agreed to finalise a list of potential issues related to the findings of the COSTA CONCORDIA investigation in the long-term action plan at MSC 94.

TRAINING AND WATCHKEEPING. The Committee:

(1) Approved the draft MSC-MEPC Circular on Guidelines for the reactivation of the Safety Management Certificate following an operational interruption of the SMS due to lay-up;

(2) Approved the draft MSC-MEPC Circular addressing Guidance on safety when transferring persons at sea;

(3) Endorsed STW 44’s decision not to develop amendments to the ISM Code for the transfer of ship maintenance and failure records;

(4) Concurred with STW’s view that the STCW Convention and Code adequately cover training requirements relating to the RCOs for General Cargo Ship Safety.

SAFETY OF NAVIGATION. The Committee adopted two new traffic separation schemes:

(1) “On the Pacific coast of Panama”; and

(2) “At the approaches to Puerto Cristobal”.

HUMAN ELEMENT, TRAINING AND WATCHKEEPING. The Committee considered urgent issues emanating from the first session of HTW during which it endorsed STCW.7/Circ.21 on Advice for port State control officers, recognised organisations and recognised security organisations on action to be taken where seafarers do not carry requisite certification. Training and certification requirements for ship security officers and seafarers with designated duties were also endorsed as advised in a separate Circular. Nine further “competent persons” nominated by three STCW Parties were approved and will be added to the current list of 173 competent persons.

TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES RELATING TO MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY. 32 regional, 34 national and 65 global safety- and security-related activities were implemented during 2013 under the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP). Further, 72 model courses have been published in English to date, of which 30 have been translated into French and 34 into Spanish.

PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS. The Committee noted that the number of worldwide piracy attacks has decreased and that no SOLAS ships have been hijacked in the western Indian Ocean area since May 2012.

However the situation in the Gulf of Guinea has not improved as 9 ships were reported hijacked in 2012 and another 9 in 2013; indeed, BIMCO argued that there is a general upwards trend in the Gulf and the number of kidnappings of crews is growing to an unacceptable level. The delegations of Cameroon, Angola and Ghana provided additional information to assist in the Committees deliberations during which the Secretary General of IMO thanked those Member States that had provided donations to the West and Central Africa Maritime Security Trust Fund. He further stressed the need to establish a national and port security regime in each country, assisted by the ITCP, and in this respect a Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre in Accra, Ghana, recently established with the assistance of OCIMF is noteworthy.

With regard to interim guidelines on measures relating to the welfare of seafarers and their families developed by WG3 of the Contract Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, it was decided to forward these to ILO as many of the aspects described fall directly under ILO’s purview and are complementary to the 2006 MLC.

PRIVATE ARMED SECURITY. MSC 90 decided that ISO would be best placed to develop standards on Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) and issued Interim guidance to private maritime security companies providing privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships in the High Risk Area, which includes guidance on rules of the use of force. Following subsequent development of the ISO Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 28007, PMSC can now be certified to this voluntary standard, thus facilitating uniform international implementation. Meanwhile, there have been calls for a new independent organisation, based in Geneva, to take on actual role monitoring activities, sometimes on board ships. Known as the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA), BIMCO (on behalf of the Round Table members) argued that it may not be in IMO’s best interest to encourage an oversight mechanism such as that of ICoCA in addition to ISO PAS 28007. In response to these concerns, UK responded it was not aware of any State using the ICoC for PMSC certification which in any case is a set of principles, not a standard. Following an extensive discussion, the Committee reaffirmed its support for ISO PAS 28007, and encouraged Member States to submit documents to its next session on how best to reflect the value of 28007 in IMO’s guidance on the use of PCASP.

HIGH RISK AREA. Despite a request by the delegation of OMAN to remove the Sea of Oman from the High Risk Area as defined in BMP4, ICS informed the committee that information received from naval forces indicates a continued risk of piracy in these waters and it has been agreed, for the time being, to keep the geographical limits of the HRA as they are.

ISUES ARISING FROM DSC 18.

(1) MOL COMFORT. In an interim investigation report of the accident by a JAPAN government (MLIT) committee, two recommendations were made:

1. That a safety inspection on the bottom shell plates to the extent possible should be conducted in order to verify the presence of buckling deformation; and,

2. Verification of the actual weight of container cargoes provided by the shipper be carried out in order to reduce uncertainty related to the still water bending moments of large containerships.

(2) TRANSPORT OF IRON ORE FINES. A DSC Circular (DSC.1/Circ.71) has been issued on early implementation of the draft amendments to the IMSBC Code relating to a draft schedule following finalised work on iron ore fines.

THE POLAR CODE. In consideration of WG1’s report, the Committee:

(1) Endorsed the group’s recommendation to instruct NCSR to further consider whether the scope of application of chapter 10 (Safety of Navigation) and 11 (Communication) of the draft Polar Code should also include different types and sizes of ships or if it would be sufficient to address this in phase 2 (non-SOLAS ships) of the Polar Code.

(2) Noted the urgent need to start phase 2 of the Polar Code development.

(3) Approved the draft new SOLAS chapter XIV, with a view to subsequent adoption.

(4) Noted the group’s decision to include a sample table of content and additional guidance of detailed content for the Polar Waters Operational Manual (PWOM) as an appendix to the draft Polar Code, which is divided into parts, I (Safety Measures) and II (Environmental Protection Measures).

(5) Endorsed sending part II and additional guidance for PWOM to MEPC 67 for consideration in conjunction with the introduction and part II-A of the draft Polar Code.

(6) Endorsed deletion of chapter 7, observing that such matters come under ILO purview.

(7) Referred navigation and communication matters to NCSR1 in conjunction with the finalisation of chapters 10 and 11 of the draft Polar Code

(8) Approved, in principle, a draft International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, with a view to adoption in conjunction with the adoption of an associated draft new SOLAS chapter XIV.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IMSBC CODE. MSC 92 adopted amendments to the IMSBC Code which are envisaged to enter into force from 1 January 2015. It was noted that, since the actual Code entered into force, a number of casualties have been reported involving ships carrying cargoes addressed by the Code and which have resulted in the loss of many seafarers’ lives. During discussion, the Committee:

(1) noted that the Code is not directed to a particular ship-type or size and therefore is relevant to all ships that carry dry cargoes in bulk;

(2) urged that cargoes are loaded, carried and unloaded in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements, especially the IMSBC Code provisions;

(3) reminded stakeholders of the publications, guides and flowchart that industry associations, classification societies and other organisations have produced to facilitate IMSBC Code implementation; and

(4) invited consideration of further actions that might be taken to promote global implementation of, and compliance with, the provisions of SOLAS chapter VI and the IMSBC Code to all involved in the transport of solid bulk cargoes.

Taking into account the 2014 theme for World Maritime Day “IMO conventions : effective implementation” and in order to enhance global compliance with the Code, the IMO Secretary-General stated that his Secretariat will develop a new technical cooperation programme within the framework of the ITCP and furnish MSC 94 with information on the nature of support that IMO can provide.

IMPLEMENTATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND RELATED MATTERS. The Committee approved DG1’s report and in particular:

(1) Approved the draft MSC Circular on Guidance on entry into force of amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention;

(2) Approved Interim Guidance on drafting of amendments;

(3) Instructed the Committees subsidiary bodies to start using the Guidance and invited proposals for improvement;

(4) Agreed to establish a WG at MSC 94;

(5) Instructed SSE2 to consider urgently, the issues related to the Scope of Application of the LSA Code, then report to MSC 94.

OUT OF SPECIFICATION MARINE FUELS. Following an extensive discussion, the Committee recognised that “Out of Specification” marine fuels pose a safety risk to ships and resolved to consider and coordinate the matter in conjunction with MEPC, taking into account ship safety, as well as environmental and health issues. Member States and international organisations were invited to submit proposals to MSC 94, which will be considered in concert with the outcome of MEPC 67 in seeking to develop a specific way forward. Meanwhile, the Committee urged Member States to strengthen their oversight capacity of bunker suppliers.

PLACE OF REFUGE. INTERTANKO made a statement regarding the chemical tanker MARITIME MAISIE which suffered major structural damage on 29 December 2013. Despite repeated requests, a place or refuge was not granted until 14 April 2014 even though the vessel’s structure suffered progressive deterioration. Reference was made to Assembly resolution A.949(23) on places of refuge which argues the case for places of refuse but which also acknowledges that the State has no obligation to act. Responding, the delegation of JAPAN answered that the coastal States indeed have the right to make the final decision on whether to accept or refuse such a request, taking into consideration the threat to public safety. In this instance, the Government’s concern about such potential damage caused by toxic gas (assessed to be a risk arising from the residual cargo) was the over-riding factor, hence MARITIME MAISIE’s protracted wait for a place of refuge.