Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI), 14th session: 5-9 June 2006

Opening address by the Secretary-General


Action plan to tackle the inadequacy of port reception facilities agreed by Sub-Committee
A draft Action Plan to tackle the alleged inadequacy of port reception facilities - seen as a major hurdle to overcome in order to achieve full compliance with MARPOL - was agreed by the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation when it met for its 14th session.

The development of the action plan followed a submission to the MEPC by the shipping and port industry's Reception Facilities Forum1, which has identified a number of problem areas associated with the inadequacy of port reception facilities.

The draft plan, which will be submitted to the next session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 55) for approval, contains a list of proposed work items to be undertaken by IMO with the aim of improving the provision and use of adequate port reception facilities:
  • Reporting
    - Development of a standard Advance Notification Form and standard Waste Delivery Form.
  • Information on port reception facilities
    - Monitoring/evaluation/adjustment of the Port Reception Facilities module of GISIS (http://gisis.imo.org/Public/), which has the potential to assist in improving reception facilities if it is used routinely by the industry and is populated with records of reception facilities worldwide and contact points for flag and coastal States.
    - Review of the outcome of the waste reception facility auditing/assessment procedure. The Guidelines for ensuring the adequacy of port waste reception facilities (resolution MEPC.83(44)) encourage States to make use of an assessment form to conduct regular assessments of waste reception facilities in their ports and to advise IMO of the outcome of such assessments, including any inadequacies of port reception facilities, as well as any technical co operation assistance that may be needed to address those inadequacies.
    - Enhancement of the availability of relevant information contained in port waste management plans to users of port reception facilities.
  • Equipment/technology
    - Identification of any technical problems encountered between ship and shore-based transfer of waste.
    - Standardization of garbage segregation requirements and containment identification.
  • Types and amount of wastes
    - Review of type and amount of wastes generated on board.
    - Review of the type and capacity of port reception facilities.
    - Development of a uniform methodology for calculating the required capacity and technical capability of a port reception facility.
  • Regulatory matters
    - Development of Guidelines for establishing regional arrangements for reception facilities.
    - Revision of the IMO Comprehensive Manual on Port Reception Facilities.
    - Development of a Guide of Good Practice on Port Reception Facilities.

BWM reception facilities guidelines agreed
The Sub-Committee finalized draft Guidelines for sediment reception facilities and for ballast water reception facilities under the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (BWM Convention), which will be submitted to MEPC 55 for consideration and adoption.

Also agreed were draft Guidelines for additional measures including emergency situations under the BWM Convention, for submission to MEPC 55.

Review of the Survey Guidelines under the HSSC
The Sub-Committee reviewed proposed draft amendments to the Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) (resolution A.948(23)), which are intended to bring the guidelines up to date with amendments to IMO instruments. A correspondence group was established to further develop the draft amendments and prepare a consolidated draft of the Revised Survey Guidelines, for submission to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and MEPC, for approval, and then to the 25th Assembly in 2007 for adoption.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Committee agreed the following:

  • draft form for the automatic identification system (AIS) Test Report for further review by the Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV);
  • draft Guidelines on annual testing of voyage data recorders (VDR) and simplified voyage data recorders (S-VDR), for review by NAV prior to submission to MSC 82;
  • draft Guidelines for pre-planning of surveys in dry-dock of ships which are not subject to the Enhanced Programme of Inspections under resolution A.744(18), as amended, for submission to MSC 82;
  • draft Survey Guidelines under the HSSC for the purpose of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (BWM Convention), for submission to MEPC 55.

Casualty statistics and investigations
The Sub-committee conducted its review of the analyses of reports of investigations into casualties, making ample use of the direct reporting and viewing facilities of the GISIS module on casualties. The Overview of lessons learned from casualty investigations and the Lessons learned for presentation to seafarers, prepared by the correspondence group on casualty analysis, were approved by the Sub-Committee. In particular the Sub-Committee noted the following:

  • a report into a death resulting from an entry into enclosed spaces was submitted, and such reports were received with a disturbing regularity. It seems that, despite the Organization's best endeavours, circulars and other publicity relating to the problem were not reaching some seafarers. Member States were urged to target such accidents with a view to submitting reports for analysis and possible referral to the appropriate technical sub-committees;
  • there was an alarming number of fatalities and serious injuries associated with mooring and unmooring ships. Six reports considered involved either the failure of mooring equipment, or fatality or injury through apparent human factors. Member States were urged to target such accidents with a view to submitting reports for analysis and possible referral to the appropriate technical sub-committees; and
  • collisions and groundings accounted for a significant percentage of reports issued and the number of reports on occupational fatalities and injuries had increased. The casualty analysis group agreed to focus on these types of casualties to try and discern trends.

The Sub-Committee also noted the view of one delegation that the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) should consider making bridge resource management training mandatory for deck officers under the STCW Convention, to help reduce casualties.

Review of the Code for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents
The Sub-Committee continued its review of the Code for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents, with a view to making the Code mandatory. The foreword, general provisions, mandatory standards and recommended practices in the new draft revised code were further developed, taking into account the Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident, which were adopted by the Legal Committee at its 91st session in April, and by the Governing Body of ILO in June 2006. A correspondence group was established to continue the work.

Harmonization of port State control activities
The Sub-Committee initiated the development of a framework to promote the global harmonization and co ordination of port State control activities, bearing in mind the fundamental principle that flag State implementation is the very first line of defence for compliance with international standards, with port State control being complementary to the role of the flag States. The Sub-Committee benefited in this matter from the participation of representatives of seven regional port State control regimes, which have signed agreements of co-operation with IMO and attended as observers from inter-governmental organizations (IGOs).

For global harmonization of port State control, the following were considered to be the most important elements:

  • ratification by all Member States of the IMO instruments and other relevant Conventions (i.e. ILO Conventions);
  • unified understanding and implementation by authorities and port State control officers of the provisions contained in the Conventions, codes and guidelines;
  • compatibility of port State control procedures, reporting systems and standard formats;
  • transparency of information as well as reliable statistics on inspection results;
  • co-operation and efficient exchange of information between Member States and port State control regimes;
  • analysis of port State control activities, practices and statistics;
  • training of qualified professionals as port State control officers and good understanding of processes, standards, codes and practices by all involved (flag States, port State control officers, authorities, crew, recognized organizations, etc.); and
  • revision of the available training material such as IMO model coursec3.09 and developing globally harmonized training materials.

It was recommended that IMO continue organizing global workshops for secretaries of port State control MOUs/agreements and directors of PSC information centres.

The Sub-Committee also commenced work on the revision of the Procedures for Port State control (resolution A.787(19), as amended by resolution A.882(21)) in view of the entry into force of the revised MARPOL Annex IV and the revision of MARPOL Annex II, and established a Correspondence Group to continue the work ahead of the next session.

Draft PSC guidelines on seafarers' working hours agreed
Draft port State control guidelines on seafarers' working hours were agreed, for submission to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and to the ILO.

Excessive hours of work or insufficient rest can contribute to fatigue, identified as an important contributing factor to maritime casualties and to health problems of seafarers. The guidance notes that States which have ratified ILO Convention No.180 (Seafarers' Hours of Work and the Manning of Ships Convention) are entitled to examine the records for hours of work or minimum rest periods on ships flying their flags. (The ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006), adopted in February, incorporates the provisions of ILO Convention No.180 relative to seafarers' hours of work.)

Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing
The Sub-Committee was updated on preparatory work on IUU fishing ahead of the three-day meeting of the Joint IMO/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Working Group on IUU Fishing and Related Matters, scheduled to be held in July 2007. This will be the second meeting of the group since it met in 2000, but FAO and IMO officials have met since then on several occasions to discuss IUU issues.

The second Joint Working Group meeting is expected to discuss a range of IUU issues including mechanisms and areas for co-operation and collaboration between IMO and FAO, such as the FAO Global Fishing Vessel Record; vessel tracking and detection systems; port State measures and port State control; marine pollution issues arising from fisheries and the review of MARPOL Annex V (regulations for the prevention of pollution by garbage from ships); and use of the FAO Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS) and IMO's GISIS.

Future active co-ordination between FAO and IMO could include co-ordinated technical co-operation activities, exchange of delegations at respective meetings, joint conferences and, as appropriate, expansion of the mandate of FAO/IMO institutional mechanisms for collaboration.

The Sub-Committee noted once again that the two IMO treaties addressing fishing vessel safety have yet to enter into force: the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol for the Safety of Fishing Vessels has been ratified to date by just twelve States, corresponding to around a quarter of the aggregate number of fishing vessels required, and the International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995, has been ratified by only five States.

Mandatory reports under MARPOL 73/78
The Sub-Committee noted the low rate of mandatory reporting by MARPOL Parties - 21 per cent of Parties submitted reports for 2004 - and urged all Parties to fulfil the reporting requirements of their treaty obligations, and to bring to the attention of the Sub-Committee any difficulties encountered in the implementation of the reporting requirements. Based on the reports submitted under MARPOL 73/78 for 2004 by 27 Parties to MARPOL 73/78 and one Associate Member, the following was reported:

  • 7 incidental spillages of 50 tonnes or more, with the type of substance spilled in most cases was oil;
  • 277 incidental spillages of less than 50 tonnes, with the type of substance spilled in most cases was oil;
  • a total of 52 cases of alleged oil discharge violations;
  • two flag States submitted seven reports of alleged inadequacies of reception facilities;
  • the compliance rate of certification, record keeping, and equipment requirements of MARPOL 73/78 was 97.6%, 94.1% and 95.1%, respectively. Fifty ships were reported to have no IOPP Certificate or equivalency, 829 ships were reported to have IOPP Certificate or equivalency discrepancies; 61 ships were reported to have no Oil Record Book or equivalency; 2,091 ships were reported to have Oil Record Book or equivalency discrepancies; 147 ships lacked required pollution prevention equipment on board; and 1,691 ships had required equipment not functioning; and
  •

the total number of ships boarded for port State control was 36,796 for 2004, while the total number of ships detained in port or denied entry was 715, or 1.9% of those boarded.

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1The Reception Facilities Forum includes BIMCO, IAPH, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO and OCIMF