Another SOLAS update: Did revisions need to be done, or did bureaucratic activists need something to do?
 The good news for some is that new expenses that inevitably accompany four-year updates of the UN's Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty do not go into force until 2024, and much of it only applies to newbuilds leaving existing ships unaffected.
New SOLAS requirements intend to improve mooring safety by introducing additional requirements to selection, arrangement, inspection, maintenance and replacement of mooring equipment, including lines, according to damage report from DNV, the Oslo-based classification society.
Further documentation regarding the design of mooring arrangements and the selection of mooring equipment will be required to be provided and kept on board.
The design requirements will then apply to new cargo and passenger ships constructed on or after January 2024 that are above 3,000 gross tonnes, and should also apply to ships of 3,000 gross tonnes and below as far as reasonably practicable, said the DNV impact summary.
More eye-catching perhaps were the changes to life-saving appliances.
"The launching appliance of new rescue boats less than 700 kilogrammes does not need to have stored mechanical power, but handling shall be possible by one person," said the report.
"Free-fall lifeboats will not need to be launch-tested with the ship making headway at speeds of up to five knots in calm water, as there are no additional dynamic loads on the launching arrangements. Lifeboats equipped with two independent propulsions systems do not need to be equipped with buoyant oars," it said.
The amendments will apply to cargo and passenger ships and enter into force on January 1, 2024. Flag states are invited to voluntarily apply the launch test provisions for free-fall lifeboats earlier," it said.
On eco-fuel handling, SOLAS had this to say: "The International Code for Safety for Ships, using gases or other low-flashpoint fuels (IGF Code) has been amended to reflect experiences gained since the code entered into force in 2017."
New rules also demand cofferdams for fire protection purposes, safe fuel distribution outside machinery spaces, fire protection between spaces with fuel containment systems and fixed fire-extinguishing systems in LNG fuel preparation spaces.
These amendments will apply to new ships using natural gas as fuel and will enter into force on January 1, 2024.
The 105th session of the UN's International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee in April 2022 was the last session to adopt amendments to the 2024 update of SOLAS and the related mandatory codes. Amendments adopted less than 18 months before January 2024 would normally be pushed to the next four-year cycle of entry into force.
The requirements to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) have been modernised to contain more generic requirements, independent of specific service providers, and to remove carriage requirements for obsolete systems. Furthermore, the requirements for communication equipment have been moved from SOLAS Chapter III on life-saving appliances to Chapter IV on radio communications. The definitions of the sea areas A1 to A4 have been amended to reflect that the geographical area of coverage may vary between various satellite service providers.
Since the IMO adopted the worldwide system for communication of emergency information in 1988, Inmarsat has been the only approved provider of satellite communication services for the GMDSS. In 2018, the IMO also recognised Iridium as a provider of such services, and the 2020 update of SOLAS replaced provider-specific terms with the more generic “recognised mobile satellite service”.
Consequential amendments have been made to the 1994 and 2000 High-Speed Craft (HSC) Codes, the Special Purpose Ships (SPS) Code and the Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU) Code.
The amendments will enter into force from January 2024. Existing SOLAS certificates do not have to be reissued before they expire as a consequence of the reorganisation of SOLAS Chapters III and IV.
Amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-1 will ensure that the requirements to watertight integrity in parts B-2 to B-4 capture the probabilistic damage stability approach in parts B and B-1. The amendments address inter alia assumptions regarding progressive flooding, valves in the collision bulkhead and the consideration of watertight doors.
The amendments are a result of experience with the revised SOLAS Chapter II-1 after the probabilistic damage stability approach was introduced in the 2009 update of SOLAS. The approach assesses the probability of survival for a ship in case of damage, related to the extent and location of the damage.
The probabilistic approach is perceived to give a more realistic representation of the condition of a ship in damaged situations, and to allow more freedom regarding, for example, the placement of watertight bulkheads.
These changes SOLAS Convention are regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.
The 105th session of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee in April 2022 was the last session to adopt amendments to the 2024 update of SOLAS and the related mandatory codes. Amendments adopted less than 18 months before January 2024 would normally be pushed to the next four-year cycle of entry into force.
But the IMO has recognised that the Covid crisis has caused delays in some ongoing work and has hence introduced an ad hoc midterm amendments cycle. The next update of SOLAS will therefore enter into force on January 1, 2026 and will include amendments adopted before July 2024.
Now that regulatory compliance - or its lack - has been recognised by the underwriting community as one of the greatest man-made hazards facing today's maritime world, it is true that many of us sees another bout of bureaucratic activism as a mixed blessing at the very least.
Nonetheless, it is well that we are made aware of the new menaces from whatever well-intended sources they come. |
