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The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced that
a comprehensive package of amendments to the international regulations affecting
new passenger ships has entered into force on July 1.
Increased emphasis is placed on reducing the chance of accidents occurring and
on improved survivability, embracing the concept on the ship as 'its own best
lifeboat,' according to the IMO.
The amendments affect passenger ship regulations in the International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), and came about as the result of a
comprehensive review of passenger ship safety initiated in 2000 by the IMO, the
United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for safety and security of
shipping and the prevention of marine pollution from ships.
The aim of the review was to assess whether the existing regulations were
adequate to meet future challenges, in particular to address issues related to
the increased size of passenger ships now being built. The amendments were
adopted in 2006.
IMO said the guiding philosophy behind this important review was based on the
dual premise that the regulatory framework should place more emphasis on the
prevention of a casualty from occurring in the first place and that future
passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability so that, in the
event of a casualty, persons can stay safely on board, in a 'safe area' as the
ship proceeds to port.
The amendments include new concepts such as the incorporation of design criteria
for the casualty threshold (the amount of damage a ship is able to withstand,
according to the design basis, and still safely return to port) into SOLAS
chapters II-1 and II-2. The amendments also provide regulatory flexibility so
that ship designers can meet future safety challenges.
The amendments, which largely affect new ships built from July 1, 2010, include:
alternative designs and arrangements;
provision of safe areas and the essential systems to be maintained while a ship
proceeds to port after a casualty, which will require redundancy of propulsion
and other essential systems;
on-board safety centers, from where safety systems can be controlled, operated
and monitored;
fixed fire detection and alarm systems, including requirements for fire
detectors and manually operated call points to be capable of being remotely and
individually identified;
fire prevention, including amendments aimed at enhancing the fire safety of
atriums, the means of escape in case of fire and ventilation systems; and
time for orderly evacuation and abandonment, including requirements for the
essential systems that must remain operational in case any one main vertical
zone is unserviceable due to fire.
Other important SOLAS amendments entering into force on July 1, include the
following:
December 2008 amendments to SOLAS
Amendments to the SOLAS Convention and to the 1988 Load Lines Protocol
The amendments make mandatory the International Code on Intact Stability, 2008
(2008 IS Code). The 2008 IS Code provides, in a single document, both mandatory
requirements and recommended provisions relating to intact stability, taking
into account technical developments, in particular regarding the dynamic
stability phenomena in waves, based on state-of-the-art concepts. The code's
mandatory status, under both the SOLAS Convention and the 1988 Load Lines
Protocol, will significantly influence the design and the overall safety of
ships.
May 2006 amendments to SOLAS
Amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2 fire protection
These include amendments relating to Regulation 9 - Containment of fire, to
include a requirement of water-mist nozzles which should be tested and approved
in accordance with the guidelines approved by the IMO; and to Regulation 15 -
Arrangements for oil fuel, lubricating oil and other flammable oils, in which
new test is introduced relating to the application of the regulation to ships
constructed on or after February 1, 1992 or after July 1, 1998.
Amendments to SOLAS Chapter III - Life-saving appliances and arrangements
In Regulation 7 - Personal life-saving appliances, the amendments add a new
requirement for infant lifejackets. For passenger ships on voyages of less than
24 hours, a number of infant lifejackets equal to at least 2.5% of the number of
passengers on board is to be provided; and for passenger ships on voyages of 24
hours or greater, infant lifejackets are to be provided for each infant on
board. A further amendment relates to the provision of lifejackets for larger
passengers and states that, if the adult lifejackets provided are not designed
to fit persons with a chest girth of up to 1,750mm, sufficient number of
suitable accessories are to be available on board to allow them to be secured to
such persons.
Amendment to SOLAS Chaper IV - Radiocommunications
The amendments relate to the provision of radio equipment, in Regulation 7, to
require ships to carry an EPIRB capable of transmitting a distress alert through
the polar orbiting satellite service (COSPAS-SARSAT) operating in the 406 MHz
band; and, in Regulation 9 and 10, to clarify that the means of initiating
ship-to-shore distress alerts may be through the Inmarsat geostationary
satellite service by a ship earth station. |
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