Maritime operation assignment imo

Editor's Notes

• #17: Let me give you an idea of how measures progress through the IMO machinery. Any IMO Member State can propose a new regulation or amendment to existing one. It might arise from an incident, or simply from an idea or technical development. The Member State first puts its proposal to the relevant IMO Committee. The Committee would then discuss the proposal and, if it was considered to have merit, might decide to refer it to a sub-committee for more detailed consideration. For more complex issues, a working group or correspondence group might be established to work on the issue at an even more intense technical level. After appropriate discussion in these fora, a detailed draft – whether it for a new measure, an amendment to an existing measure, a code of practice, guidelines or a circular – is drawn up, ready for consideration and approval at the appropriate level. This explains the process in the simplest of terms. Depending on the complexity of the issue, some measures can be quickly agreed and adopted while others require more time. IMO member states undertake to put into practice the measures they develop and adopt at IMO. That is why the Organization always aims to adopt measures by consensus as this way ensures the widest possible implementation by the member states.
• #19: Of course what really counts is the application of IMO measures aboard real ships, such as this bulk carrier, this general cargo vessel, this passenger ship or this tanker.
• #20: Today there are more than 50 IMO treaty instruments and over 100 other measures such as protocols, guidelines, recommended practices and so on. Between them, they influence almost every aspect of shipping and ship operation, including ship design, construction, equipment, maintenance and manning.
• #21: Broadly speaking, the main IMO Conventions fall into four categories. Those dealing with safety and security include: the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) which is generally considered to be the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. Among the topics covered in its chapters are ship construction, subdivision and stability, fire protection, life saving appliances and arrangements, radiocommunications, safety of navigation, carriage of cargoes and dangerous goods, safe management and maritime security; Others include the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, the Load lines Convention, the Collision Regulations or COLREGS and the so-called SUA Conventions, which are legal instruments aimed at ensuring that appropriate action is taken against persons committing unlawful acts against ships such as the seizure of ships by force, acts of violence against persons on board ships and the placing of devices on board a ship which are likely to destroy or damage it.
• #22: Another set of Conventions are designed to prevent pollution of the marine environment. Prime among these is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL, which has six annexes, dealing with oil pollution, operational pollution, harmful substances in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution. Others include Conventions on the dumping of wastes at sea, on the rights of coastal states to intervene if their coastline is under threat of pollution following upon a maritime casualty, on the use of certain toxic substances in ships’ anti-fouling paint and on ballast water management.
• #23: Broadly speaking, the measures we’ve covered so far are designed to prevent accidents from occurring; But we have to recognise that despite everyone’s best efforts, accidents do occur. So another series of Conventions have been developed that are designed to ensure a proper response to minimise the negative repercussions when accidents do happen. The most important consideration is the protection of human life, and to this end the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (the SAR Convention) enshrines an international SAR plan to ensure that, no matter where an accident occurs, rescue operations will be co-ordinated by a proper search and rescue organization and, when necessary, by co-operation between neighbouring SAR organizations. Other measures in this category include the OPRC Convention (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) which establishes measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in co-operation with other countries, and its related protocol dealing with hazardous and noxious substances.
• #24: And we can see that, by adopting the consensus approach, the most important conventions covering maritime safety and the prevention of pollution are now applicable to almost 100 per cent of global tonnage.
• #25: The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of Ships, 1973 was adopted that same year. This Convention was subsequently modified by the Protocol 1978, which was adopted in 1978. The Protocol introduced stricter regulations for the survey and certification of ships. It is to be read as one instrument and is usually referred to as MARPOL 73/78. This IMO Convention is the most important global treaty for the prevention of pollution from the operation of ships. It governs the design and equipment of ships, establishes a system of certificates and inspections and requires States to provide reception facilities for the disposal of oily waste and chemicals. It covers all technical aspects of pollution from ships, except the disposal of waste into the sea by dumping, and applies to ships of all types, although it does not apply to pollution arising out of the exploration and exploitation of sea-bed mineral resources. Regulations covering the various sources of ship-generated pollution are contained in six annexes that are updated regularly. All Annexes I (oil), II (chemicals in bulk), III (chemicals in packaged form), IV (sewage), V (garbage), VI (air emissions) are in force.
• #30: These are only examples. The United Nations Environment Program lists over 500 agreements between or among nations that deal with environmental issues, out of 40,000+ total international agreements. Note for later: LTRAP: Long Range Transport of Atmospheric Pollutants. POP: Persistent Organic Pollutants. OSPAR: the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, 1992.