IMO Symposium on Future of Ship Safety

Press Release June 4, 2013

The IMO Symposium on the Future of Ship Safety will be held 10 & 11 June, 2013, at IMO Headquarters in London.

The symposium will include six international panels of high-level speakers from across the broad spectrum of ship design, construction, equipment, operation and regulation, who will discuss a wide range of issues impacting the future of ship safety.

The symposium will include:
• Session 1 – Future impacts on ship safety
This session will examine recent trends in ship design and their likely impact on ship safety in the decades to come, and discuss how future risks should be assessed.
• Session 2 – Meeting the needs of society and the maritime industry
This session will look at how shipping responds to the needs of society, industry and global trade and examine possible ways forward in the future.
• Session 3 – Driving forces on maritime safety
This session will look at the economic, environmental and consumer forces impacting maritime safety and how such forces will drive future ship design and operations.
• Session 4 - Responding to regulatory challenges through risk assessment
This session will discuss the availability and need for data collection and analysis methodologies to provide the sound scientific basis for continuous improvement in the years to come.
• Session 5 - Dealing with the human element
This session will seek to identify the best way of encouraging a safety culture beyond mere compliance with statutory requirements based on both theoretical and practical examples.
• Session 6 - The need for change
This session will look at whether the current international safety regulatory framework will effectively respond to the future challenges discussed throughout the Symposium and identify the actions needed to meet those challenges successfully.
• Panel Discussion: SOLAS 74 – is it time for a new SOLAS Convention?

The Symposium is expected to adopt a resolution and report on its deliberations to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 92nd session, which meets soon afterwards.