<html> <head> <title>DE 51 - summary report</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"> <br> </font> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Code of Safety for Special Purpose Ships, 2008 agreed by Sub-Committee<br> </b>A revised and updated Code of Safety for Special Purpose Ships (SPS Code), such as sail training ships, cable laying ships and research vessels, has been agreed by the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment, for submission to the Maritime Safety committee (MSC) at its 84th session in May 2008 for adoption. <br> <br> The original SPS Code was adopted in 1983. The 2008 version aims to provide an international standard of safety for special purpose ships of new construction, the application of which will facilitate operation of such ships and result in a level of safety for the ships and their personnel equivalent to that required by the International Convention for the Safety at Life of Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended. <br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">For the purposes of the SPS Code, a special purpose ship is a ship of not less than 500 gross tonnage which carries more than 12 special personnel, i.e., persons who are specially needed for the particular operational duties of the ship and are carried in addition to those persons required for the normal navigation, engineering and maintenance of the ship or engaged to provide services for the persons carried on board. <br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Such personnel could include: scientists, technicians and expeditionaries on ships engaged in research, non commercial expeditions and survey; personnel engaging in training and practical marine experiences to develop seafaring skills suitable for a professional career at sea; personnel who process the catch on factory ships for fish, whales or other living resources of the sea, not engaged in catching; and salvage personnel on salvage ships, cable-laying personnel on cable laying ships, seismic personnel on seismic survey ships, diving personnel on diving support ships, pipe laying personnel on pipe layers and crane operating personnel on floating cranes. <br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">The SPS Code 2008 includes chapters covering: stability and subdivision; machinery installations; electrical installations; periodically unattended machinery spaces; fire protection; dangerous goods; life-saving appliances; radio communications; safety of navigation; and security.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Prohibiting asbestos - draft SOLAS amendment agreed</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed a draft amendment to SOLAS regulation II-1/3-5.2, to prohibit all new installations of asbestos on board ships without exceptions, for submission to MSC 85 (November-December 2008) for approval with a view to adoption at MSC 86 (2009).<br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Currently, the regulation prohibits the new installation of materials which contain asbestos with the exception of vanes used in rotary vane compressors and rotary vane vacuum pumps; watertight joints and linings used for the circulation of fluids when, at high temperature (in excess of 350&ordm;C) or pressure (in excess of 7 x 106 Pa), there is a risk of fire, corrosion or toxicity; and supple and flexible thermal insulation assemblies used for temperatures above 1000&ordm;C. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Handling of oily wastes on ships - draft amendments to MARPOL agreed</b><br> Draft amendments to MARPOL Annex I concerning disposal of oily wastes were agreed by the Sub-Committee, for submission to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval and adoption. <br> <br> The draft amendments provide new definitions for oil residue (sludge) and oil residue (sludge) tanks. Oil residue (sludge) is defined as the residual waste oil products such as those resulting from the purification of fuel or lubricating oil for main or auxiliary machinery, or separated waste oil from oil filtering equipment, or waste oil collected in drip trays, and waste hydraulic and lubricating oils. Draft definitions for oily bilge water and oily bilge water holding tanks were also agreed by the Sub-Committee.<br> <br> The draft amendments to regulation 12 of MARPOL Annex I give the requirements for oil residue (sludge) tanks, which should be provided with a designated pump, have no discharge connections to bilge systems, oily bilge water holding tanks, tank top or oily water separators; and may be fitted with drains, with manually operated self-closing valves, for the collection of settled water or an alternative arrangement.<br> <br> Related draft amendments to the supplement to the IOPP Certificate Form A and Form B and to the Oil Record Book Parts I and II were also agreed. <br> <br> The Sub-Committee further agreed to a draft MEPC circular on <i>Supplementary guidelines on approval of bilge and sludge handling systems for compliance with MARPOL Annex I</i>; a draft MSC-MEPC circular relating to the blanking of bilge discharge piping systems in port; a draft MEPC circular on <i>amendments to the Revised guidelines for systems handling oily wastes in machinery spaces of ships incorporating guidance notes for an integrated bilge water treatment system (IBTS)</i>; and a draft MEPC circular on <i>Harmonized implementation of the Revised guidelines and specifications for pollution prevention equipment (PPE) for machinery spaces of ships incorporating guidance notes for the type-approval process of PPE</i>.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Measures to prevent accidents with lifeboats</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed, for submission to MSC 84 (May 2008), a draft <i>Interim recommendation on conditions for authorization of service providers for lifeboats, launching appliances and on-load release gear</i>, which includes provisions for the authorization of both independent and manufacturer certified service providers and annexes <i>Guidelines for certification of personnel for servicing and maintenance of lifeboats, launching appliances and on-load release gear</i>. <br> <br> The Sub-Committee took the view that Administrations should be urged to swiftly implement the Interim recommendation, taking into account that the great majority of reported lifeboat accidents involved on-load release gear; and that implementation of the provisions in the recommendation relating to establishment of uniform standards for certification of servicing personnel, establishment and maintenance of documented quality systems, requirements to ensure the use of genuine replacement parts in on-load release gear, and Administration oversight of service providers would be a significant step forward in improving the safety of mariners by generally raising the quality of service of this critical safety equipment. <br> <br> The Sub-Committee also agreed draft amendments to paragraph 4.7.2 of the International Life-Saving Appliances (LSA) Code concerning the design of free fall lifeboat seats and seating space, and related draft amendments to the <i>Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances</i> (resolution MSC.81(70)).<br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Meanwhile, the Sub-Committee established a correspondence group to follow up on issues discussed during the session. In particular, the correspondence group is tasked with reviewing MSC.1/Circ.1206 to include, if necessary, amendments pursuant to the new <i>Interim recommendation on conditions for authorization of service providers for lifeboats, launching appliances and on-load release gear</i>; further considering the &quot;fail safe&quot; concept with regard to lifeboat on-load release gear; develop a definition for &quot;on-load release hooks of poor and unstable design&quot;, explore criteria to determine poor and unstable design of such hooks and consider a timeframe for the replacement of such hooks, in order to improve the requirements for the design of this equipment, and preparing relevant draft amendments to the LSA Code and the <i>Revised recommendation on testing of life saving appliances</i> (resolution MSC.81(70)); and further considering the definition of &quot;unfavourable conditions of trim and list&quot;, in particular the possible need for differing definitions to be used. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Compatibility of life-saving appliances</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed draft amendments to the LSA Code and the Revised recommendation on testing of life saving appliances (resolution MSC.81(70)) to adjust the design criteria for lifeboats on cargo ships to take into account the increasing size of seafarers globally.<br> <br> In terms of the draft amendments to the LSA Code concerning the assumed weight of persons on lifeboats, the Sub-Committee agreed to differentiate the assumed weight of persons, i.e., retaining the existing 75 kg criterion for passenger ship lifeboats and increasing to 82.5 kg the criterion for cargo ship lifeboats. The requirements for lifeboat marking allow some flexibility, given the possibility that a lifeboat may be approved for both passenger and cargo ships.<br> <br> The Sub-Committee further agreed that a unified assumed weight of persons (82.5 kg) should be applied to rescue boats, even though only a few persons are typically on board rescue boats.<br> <br> The Sub-Committee also agreed a draft MSC circular on <i>Guidance on the wearing of immersion suits in totally enclosed lifeboats</i>, covering the potential risks of overheating and dehydration associated with the wearing of immersion suits inside totally enclosed lifeboats. The guidance refers to experiences in which seafarers wearing immersion suits suffered from overheating and dehydration and states that, in general, immersion suits should not be worn when boarding totally enclosed lifeboats. While abandon ship drills are a good opportunity to examine and demonstrate the use of immersion suits, crew training during these drills should emphasize that immersion suits are intended primarily to ensure thermal protection in cases where the totally enclosed lifeboat cannot be embarked.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Corrosion protection of permanent means of access arrangements - guidelines agreed</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed draft <i>Guidelines for corrosion protection of permanent means of access</i> for submission to MSC 84 for approval. The draft guidelines note that permanent means of access arrangements in ballast tanks and in void spaces that are integral to the ship structure should be coated in accordance with the <i>Performance standard for protective coatings for dedicated seawater ballast tanks of all types of ships and double-side skin spaces of bulk carriers (PSPC)</i> (resolution MSC.215(82)) and with the <i>Performance standard for protective coatings for void spaces</i> (resolution MSC.244(83)), respectively.<br> <br> The draft guidelines note that protective coatings of means of access will be liable to suffer from mechanical damage during service. It is also noted that the ladders, rails, walkways, gratings, stanchions, etc., that form the means of access will often be fabricated from square and flat bar sections, the edges of which are an inherent weak point in any coating system especially where abrasion or mechanical damage is a possibility. Therefore, it is suggested that hot dip galvanizing should be employed as the primary means for corrosion protection for these permanent means of access. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>SOLAS interpretations - conversions of single-hull tankers</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed a draft interpretation with regard to the applicability of the means of access requirements in SOLAS regulation II-1/3-6 to existing single hull tankers converting to a double hull arrangement and a draft interpretation concerning repairs, alterations and modifications of a major character. The Sub-Committee agreed that conversions of single hull tankers to double hull tankers should be regarded as modifications of a major character for the purposes of SOLAS chapter II-1.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Guidelines for maintenance and repair of protective coatings</b><br> The Sub-Committee agreed to continue work on the development of guidelines for maintenance and repair of protective coatings at its next session. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Revision of the MODU Code</b><br> The Sub-Committee continued its work on the revision of the <i>Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU Code)</i> (resolution A.649(16), as amended) and agreed to finalize the revised MODU Code at its next session. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Extending the Guidelines for ships operating in Arctic ice-covered waters</b><br> The Sub Committee continued work on developing amendments to the <i>Guidelines for ships operating in Arctic ice-covered waters </i>(MSC/Circ.1056 - MEPC/Circ.399), so that they are also applicable to ships operating in Antarctic waters. <br> <br> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">It was agreed that a complete revision of the guidelines was necessary and a correspondence group was established to prepare draft revised guidelines for submission to the Sub-Committee's next session. <br> <br> <b>Guidance to ensure consistent policy on watertight doors during navigation </b><br> A correspondence group was established to develop guidance for Administrations, to ensure a consistent policy for determining the need for watertight doors to remain open during navigation when it is considered essential to the safe and effective operation of the ship's machinery or to permit passengers unrestricted access throughout the <br> passenger area. The work is being carried out in the context of work by the Sub-Committee on Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety (SLF) on guidance on the impact of open watertight doors on existing and new ship survivability.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Revision of the Code on Alarms and Indicators</b><br> The Sub-Committee continued work in developing the draft revised <i>Code on Alarms and Indicators </i>with a view to finalizing the draft revised Code at its next session.</font></p> <p><br> </p> </body> </html>