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ICS and ISF elect new Chairman/President Member national
shipowners’ associations have elected Mr. Spyros Polemis ( Members also elected Mr. Charles Kurz II (United States) and Mr. Michael Everard (United Kingdom) as ICS Vice Chairmen, and Mr. Patrick Decavele (France) and Mr. Luis Ocejo (Mexico) as ISF Vice Presidents for 2006/2007. Following his
election at the ICS/ISF Annual General meetings, Mr Polemis affirmed his
firm commitment to the promotion of best practice in the shipping industry
and maintaining the principle of global regulation for a global industry.
International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals ICS, in conjunction with the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), has co-authored a new and fully revised edition of the International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminalsor ISGOTT as it is widely known to those working at the sharp end of tanker operations. Since its first publication in 1978, ISGOTT has been recognised as the principal industry reference works on the safe operation of oil tankers and the terminals that serve them, and it is referred to in many IMO regulations and recommendations. The new edition should contribute to the further improvement of the tanker industry’s excellent safety record, bringing it closer to the goal of zero accidents to which the whole industry aspires. This new edition makes full use of experience gained as a result of the increasing use of double hull ships that now make up the majority of the world tanker fleet. It also takes careful account of new research on static electricity, and the latest thinking on matters such as the toxic effects of cargoes. Improvements to safety and environmental performance cannot be brought about by regulation alone, and are testimony to the good practices constantly refined by industry. The
new, 5th edition of ISGOTT (accompanied by a CD version) is
published by Witherby and Co for UK £180. Members of ICS can
purchase copies at a 25% discount.
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STCW Convention review IMO has agreed in principle to conduct a thorough review of the STCW Convention governing seafarers’ training and competence standards. The scope of the review will be determined during 2007, and ISF is currently conducting a gap analysis to identify particular issues, such as improved mechanisms for the approval of training standards which might be addressed by IMO. On behalf of
maritime employers, ISF was responsible for the call which led to the
decision to revise the Convention radically in the 1990s, and played an
active part in the development of the major 1995 amendments, including the
so called ‘white list process’ whereby national training standards are
now subject to limited scrutiny by IMO itself.
Reducing atmospheric pollution ICS (with BIMCO,
Intercargo, Intertanko and the International Council of Cruise Lines) has
made an important submission to IMO conveying the global shipping
industry’s strong commitment to the revision of atmospheric pollution
standards contained in MARPOL Annex VI.
ICS
supports consideration of proposals to address the sulphur content of
marine fuel used globally and in Sulphur Emission Control Areas, and
discussion of more stringent global controls on emissions of Nitrogen
Oxide and particulate matter. Indeed,
ICS actively encouraged the early ratification by governments of MARPOL
Annex VI in the full knowledge that once it entered into force, as it
finally did last year, it would be re-opened for amendment. However,
the IMO review could have a major impact on fuel costs, engine design, and
even the long term commercial viability of many ships. As
the review progresses, it will be important that any new requirements are
justified through scientific study of environmental need.
In co-operation with oil suppliers, IMO must also satisfy itself
that any new fuels required will be available globally, and that the
solutions adopted employ technology that has actually been developed and
demonstrated to be reliable. The
industry wishes to avoid repetition of the situation that has emerged with
controls on ballast water, whereby regulations have been adopted to meet
political aspirations before the new methods agreed were actually proven. The
MARPOL Annex VI review is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
Manning Levels A large number of governments now appear to believe that the increased workload on board ship (some of it ironically created by the constant stream of new regulations) is giving rise to serious fatigue on the part of critical personnel, and that it may be playing a part in a number of maritime casualties. In response to a ‘bloc’ submission by all member states of the European Union, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee has agreed to commence a review of rules on how flag states establish safe manning levels for ships. Encouragingly, IMO has agreed that various other suggestions submitted by ICS/ISF (with BIMCO) might be addressed by the review, not least means of improving enforcement of existing international work hour rules and watchkeeping requirements. ICS/ISF support
inclusion of fatigue as a priority item on IMO’s work programme, but it
will be important for IMO to think carefully about whether another
revision of its safe manning guidelines is the only effective mechanism
for addressing any problems identified.
Compliance with
MARPOL Flagrant
infringements of MARPOL requirements concerning the use of oily water
separators have apparently been allowed to develop on a disturbing number
of ships. A combination of
poor equipment design, a lack of environmental awareness, and misguided
attempts to save on waste disposal fees seem to be amongst the root
causes. But these also imply
serious management shortcomings and non-compliance with the ISM Code. The problem
has become particularly associated with the EU Maritime Safety
Package In co-operation with
the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), ICS has prepared
detailed comments, for use by EU governments and the European Parliament,
on the so called Third EU Maritime Safety Package, which will have
implications for all ships trading to Many of the EU proposals are welcome, not least those concerning port state control, which provide an opportunity for quality ships to be inspected less frequently, allowing resources to be concentrated on those vessels most likely to be sub-standard, perhaps providing a model that can be emulated by PSC authorities worldwide. However, ICS is firmly opposed to the proposed EU Directive on Civil Liability and the Financial Security of Shipowners. In addition to the creation of a mandate for the EU to negotiate unwelcome changes to the IMO Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) – with the possible ultimate goal of removing shipowners’ right to limit liability – ICS and the International Group of P&I Clubs are seriously concerned by many other aspects of the liability proposals. It will also be
important for EU governments to give careful thought to the proposed
Directive on Flag State Performance. While
at face value the European Commission’s efforts to encourage
participation in the IMO Member State Audit Scheme may seem welcome, the
detailed proposals may have profound implications for the political
competence of individual EU states to act independently from the European
Commission. The principal
concern for ICS and ISF is that this could be detrimental to the quality
of technical decision making at IMO.
ISF Manning and Training Conference The 2006 ISF Manning
and Training Conference will be held in To secure a place,
book now via www.marisec.org/isfconference Implementing the ILO
Maritime Convention
As widely reported, the shipping industry has welcomed the adoption of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, in whose development ISF played a key role as the representative of maritime employers in the 5 years of negotiations that culminated with an ILO diplomatic conference in February. The new Convention should provide the global level ‘playing field’ of sound employment standards desired by shipping companies, seafarers and governments. However, much now needs to be done to ensure that this important new Convention is ratified worldwide. The success of the ILO “Super Convention” will only be judged by the extent to which governments live up to their word and implement the new requirements as soon as possible. ISF is currently
finalising a Guide to the Convention to explain its full implications to
maritime employers, not least the new labour inspection and certification
requirements.
EU maritime policy
review In June, the European
Commission published its initial ideas (a so called ‘Green Paper’) for
its comprehensive review of future EU maritime policy, which could have
profound implications for the shipping industry worldwide. The day after
publication, ICS participated in the first major discussion of the
proposals, organised in conjunction with the European Parliament
Intergroup on Sustainable Development.
Although some of the
ideas to promote the competitiveness of shipping may prove to be welcome
(previous ideas from Europe, such as tonnage tax regimes, often being
imitated worldwide) ICS remains concerned by the European Commission’s
desire for greater influence at IMO (and ILO) as well as the
Commission’s possible ambitions to amend the United Nations Law of the
Sea. ICS will be preparing detailed comments, and participating in the 12
month consultation process that will precede firm proposals from the
Commission.
ICS and ISF meet in ICS and ISF held
their Annual General Meetings in One of the highlights
was a reception held for the The meetings also
endorsed the appointment of Mr Tony Mason, until recently a P&O
Nedlloyd Director, as the next ICS/ISF Secretary General, to succeed The Consultative Shipping Group Following the
disbandment of the OECD Maritime Transport Committee in 2005, ICS has been
keen to ensure that a global forum exists for the exchange of views of
shipping policy and trade developments between government policy makers.
Although there is consensus on most policy issues, the situation
could always change unexpectedly, as hinted at in the The Consultative
Shipping Group (CSG), comprising the governments of Europe and ICS, together with representatives from national shipowner’s associations, participated in a frank exchange of views on matters such as competition law, the WTO negotiations on maritime services and unwelcome unilateral shipping legislation. ICS hopes that the
CSG will extend membership to other major Asian maritime nations in the
near future.
IMO Member State Audit Scheme ICS and ISF are
encouraging governments to volunteer to be subjected to IMO audit of their
compliance with IMO Conventions as soon as possible, and to offer
personnel to be trained by IMO to serve as auditors of other nations. Although
the new IMO audit scheme is voluntary, ships using flag states which fail
to put themselves forward are eventually likely to be penalised in
practice, for example by being selected for more frequent port state
control inspections.
Freedom of
navigation? ICS is very concerned
about the way in which Fair treatment of seafarers ISF and ICS had been
about to welcome the adoption of new IMO/ILO Guidelines on the Fair
Treatment of Seafarers, to be practiced by investigation authorities
following maritime accidents. It was hoped they would help prevent any
repeat of appalling instances, such as the ‘Prestige’ and ‘Tasman
Spirit’ cases, where seafarers traumatised by the loss of their ship
have been held in custody. ISF,
as an ILO Social Partner, was the official representative of industry in
the IMO/ILO Group which drafted the Guidelines.
However, the industry is very disappointed that the IMO Legal
Committee has now been pressured by the Banking procedures ICS attended a
meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission
in WMU sponsorship In 2006/2007, ICS is
sponsoring a new student at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Competition rules ICS supports the
stance being adopted by the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA)
and the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) in discussions with the
EU Competition authorities about information exchange, under the new
regime expected when liner conferences are banned (probably in 2009) for
trades to and from Europe, and in parallel discussions about future EU
regulation of bulk and specialised shipping. However,
ICS continues to support the operation of conferences outside Europe,
including California air pollution rules Together with the
Chamber of Shipping of America, ICS has joined a coalition of industry
organisations that submitted comments to the California Air Resources
Board, on its latest proposals to introduce unwelcome unilateral rules
concerning the content of marine fuels used by ships sailing off the coast
of California. These rules are at variance
to MARPOL Annex VI as well as the provisions of UNCLOS (both of which,
unhelpfully, the US Federal government has still yet to ratify, although
progress is being made in Congress).
In addition to co-ordinating
the representation of maritime employers during the development of the new
ILO Maritime Labour Convention ISF remains responsible for
negotiating the ILO Minimum Wage for Able Seafarers, (with its opposite
number ITF) within the ILO Joint Maritime Commission (JMC).
The JMC has agreed that the minimum should increase to US$ 515
basic wage a month in January 2007, increasing to $530 in 2008 and $545 in
2009. Although it may have an
impact on other collective bargaining agreements, the ILO minimum is only
a recommendation, and does not necessarily apply to national flag ships of
developing countries. Importantly, ISF does not recognise any direct link
between the new ILO minimum and any pro rata increases for other grades.
Human element and
tanker safety On behalf of the
Inter Industry Working Group on Fires and Explosions in Chemical and Small
Product Tankers, ICS presented the industry’s recommendations on issues
such as the use of inert gas, to the IMO Maritime Safety Committee in May.
ICS is now chairing an
inter-industry sub group on the ‘human element’ implications of
recommendations about the need to ensure that personnel always follow
cargo operation guidelines at both the shipboard and management level.
Cargo liability ICS is heavily
engaged in the complex negotiations within the United Nations Commission
on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to develop a new global instrument
concerning liability for the carriage of goods by sea that will modernise
the Hague-Visby and Panama Canal expansion In June, the Panama
Canal Authority unveiled its proposals for financing its major Canal
expansion project, which includes a new set of locks, subject to approval
from a referendum in IMO bravery at sea award In 2007, IMO will
award the first IMO prize for bravery at sea. ISF is honoured to be of one
the industry organisations responsible for advising the judges, and member
national shipowner associations will be encouraging nominations when the
prize is formally launched.
New ICS brochure ICS has produced a
new brochure, explaining its role and function as the leading
international trade association for shipowners, its aims and objectives,
and the means by which it develops positions on international regulation
that reflect the views of the global industry (see www.marisec.org/ics)
WTO negotiations In order to highlight
the important role of maritime services amongst government negotiators at
the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in ICS/ISF Annual Review 2006 ICS and ISF have
published their comprehensive Annual Review of maritime regulatory
developments which is available free of charge via national associations,
or else can be downloaded from our website.
Bulgarian Shipowners’ Association The Bulgarian
Shipowners’ Association is the latest national shipowners’ association
to become a member of ICS and ISF.
New publications list ICS and ISF
publications, produced under the banner of Marisec Publications, are an
essential complement to government regulations and are required reading by
companies and seafarers involved in maritime operations.
The list for 2006 has now been published. Marisec
Publications now also markets loss prevention products on behalf of the Return to Mariscene headlines
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