Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 6), 4-8 February 2019

Safer mooring - SOLAS amendment and guidelines agreed

The Sub-Committee completed its work to make mooring of ships safer for the crew and shore-based mooring personnel. New requirements will require appropriate and safe-to-use designs of mooring arrangements, and introduce a maintenance and inspection regime, as well as proper documentation.

These new requirements are incorporated in the draft amendments to SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 on Towing and mooring equipment, and supported by two new sets of draft guidelines, the draft Guidelines on the design of mooring arrangements and the selection of appropriate mooring equipment and fittings for safe mooring and the draft Guidelines for inspection and maintenance of mooring equipment including lines; as well as the existing, but revised guidance on shipboard towing and mooring equipment.

The draft SOLAS amendments and draft guidelines/guidance will now be forwarded to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in June, for approval.

The work to develop the draft SOLAS amendment and related guidelines followed proposals submitted to MSC 95 (2015). The submissions highlighted that mooring operations continue to pose a risk to ships' crews, but also shore-based mooring personnel. It is also one of the work situations where crew members are exposed to excessive dynamic forces (snap-back), detrimental heavy manual work processes and the influence of unfavourable weather conditions that may further hamper the safe and healthy accomplishment of the port call. Accidents are frequent, with fatalities reported annually. For example, from 1997 to 2013, 402 accidents were registered on Danish ships, with four fatalities and 43 injuries reported.

Safety measures for fishing vessels and pleasure yachts operating in Polar waters

In light of the increased traffic in the Polar waters of vessels which do not fall under the mandatory IMO instruments, such as fishing vessels and pleasure yachts, and the increased risks of pollution of the sensitive polar environment, as well as the risks to such vessels and their crews, the Sub-Committee has been instructed to develop safety recommendations for certain ships not already covered by the mandatory Polar Code, the so-called “non-SOLAS” ships. A first set of draft recommendations for fishing vessels and pleasure yachts operating in Polar waters were considered.

A correspondence group was established to further develop the draft guidelines for safety measures for fishing vessels of 24 metres and over operating in polar waters, as a high priority, with a view to finalization at SDC 7.

The correspondence group was also instructed to further develop the draft guidelines for pleasure yachts of 300 GT and above not engaged in trade operating in polar waters

Safe carriage of industrial personnel for offshore facilities

Work continued to develop a draft new SOLAS chapter XV on safety measures for ships carrying industrial personnel and the associated draft Code. The aim is to provide minimum safety standards for ships that carry industrial personnel, as well as for the personnel themselves, including specific risks of maritime operations within the offshore sectors, such as personnel transfer operations. Such personnel may be engaged in the construction, maintenance, decommissioning, operation or servicing of offshore facilities, such as windfarms, as well as offshore oil and gas installations, aquaculture, ocean mining or similar activities.

The correspondence group was re-established to further develop the draft code and report back to the next session. 

Developing second generation intact stability criteria

The Sub-Committee has been working to develop second generation intact stability criteria since 2002. Significant progress has now been made, including on the specification of direct stability assessment; the preparation and approval of operational limitations and operational guidance; and vulnerability criteria for all five stability failure modes: pure loss of stability; parametric roll; surf-riding/broaching; dead ship condition; and excessive accelerations.

The correspondence group on intact stability was re-established to consolidate the draft guidelines so as to complete the work on the second generation of intact stability criteria at SDC 7 in 2020, for submission to the MSC.

SOLAS amendments for consistency for water tight integrity agreed

With the introduction of probabilistic requirements to SOLAS chapter II-1, some inconsistencies with legacy deterministic provisions have remained with respect to watertight integrity requirements.  The Sub-Committee addressed this by finalizing draft amendments to parts B-1 to B-4 of SOLAS chapter II-1. The amendments will be submitted to MSC 101 for approval and subsequent adoption.

New consolidated 2019 ESP Code finalized for adoption

The draft consolidated text of the revised International Code on the enhanced programme of inspections during surveys of bulk carriers and oil tankers (ESP Code) was finalized.

The updated ESP Code and its associated draft Assembly resolution, will be submitted to MSC 101 for approval and subsequent adoption by the IMO Assembly 31st session in late 2019.

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