Imo Maritime Safety Committee News

ABS has provided guidance on the recent amendments to the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (Grain Code) that will become effective on January 1, 2026.Originally adopted in 1991, the Grain Code specified loading conditions for grain transport. However, these conditions did not account for all practical loading scenarios, particularly concerning "specially suitable compartments."The IMO has now defined a new loading condition which addresses compartments that are partly filled in the way of the hatch opening with ends untrimmed…

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) will meet for its 109th session at IMO Headquarters in London (in-person with hybrid participation) from 2 to 6 December 2024.The meeting will be chaired by Mrs. Mayte Medina of the United States, supported by Vice-Chair, Capt. Theofilos Mozas of Greece.The MSC deals with all matters related to maritime safety and maritime security which fall within the scope of IMO, including autonomous vessels, safety of alternative fuels and technologies, piracy and armed robbery against ships, cyber security and e-navigation and many others. MSC 109 highlights to include:• Amendments to IGC and IGF Codes• Goal…

Advances in autonomous vessels – from R&D to regulatory policies to actual work – are moving rapidly. AVs include a range of vessel types and missions, from freight to law enforcement to research to defense. There are many acronyms. Some examples –AV stands for autonomous vessel.AUV is autonomous underwater vessel.MASS stands for “maritime autonomous surface ship.”NOMARS is a U.S. Department of Defense term for “no manning required ship.”Different…but maybe not so differentSurface…

Member states of the IMO have called for an immediate end to ongoing attacks on ships and seafarers transiting through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.In a resolution adopted in London, IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee condemned the attacks as “illegal and unjustifiable”, posing a direct threat to the freedom of navigation in one of the world's most critical waterways, while causing major disruptions to regional and global trade.It is the first resolution to be adopted by IMO member states on this issue since the Houthis seized the MV Galaxy Leader in November 2023.

The IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) advanced efforts to support maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) when it met between May 31 and 9 June 9.The Committee made progress on the development of a goal-based instrument regulating the operation of MASS which is expected to be adopted by 2025 after completion of a related regulatory scoping exercise.A MASS Working Group was established to further the work and develop common positions on key matters that will be shared with the Joint MSC/LEG/FAL Working Group on MASS.

The IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) held its 107th session from May 31 to June 9, 2023.Highlights of the meeting included the adoption of amendments to the LSA Code and MSC.81(70) Revised recommendation on the testing of life-saving appliances for the ventilation of totally enclosed lifeboats. ABS reports that the Committee adopted Resolution MSC.533(107) introducing amendments to the LSA Code to provide performance requirements that will require totally enclosed lifeboats to provide a means of ventilation operable from inside the lifeboat at a rate of not less than 5 m3/hour per person…

Commercial insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty released its Safety & Shipping Review, an annual analysis of shipping losses and accidents worldwide. The 2022 report reveals that the maritime sector continues its long-term positive safety trend over the past year with 54 total losses of vessels reported globally, compared with 65 a year earlier. This represents a 57% decline over 10 years (127 in 2012); while during the early 1990s the global fleet was losing 200+ vessels a year.The 2021 loss total is made more impressive by the fact that there are an estimated 130…

At a time when the world has become more aware than ever before about the vital importance of the world’s ocean shipping fleet, which carried supplies, merchandise and much needed personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased risk from a different threat, cyberattacks, presents a set of new challenges. According to Israeli cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome, since February 2020, there has been a 400% increase in attempted hacks on the maritime realm…

Global marine electronics and satellite communications provider, Mackay Communications, Inc., dba Mackay Marine, announced it has joined the select cadre of worldwide Iridium GMDSS Service Providers for Iridium’s new Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service. Mackay is similarly a global partner with Lars Thrane A/S, the first, and currently the only manufacturer of an IMO-certified Iridium GMDSS terminal, the LT-3100S.Iridium’s implementation and accelerated…

An automated vessel is one where advanced decision support systems onboard the vessel, like the Global Positioning System (GPS) and auto pilot, undertake operational decisions independent of direct human control. A Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) involves both automated systems and remote control operations. In August 2016, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Ship Operations Explore Autonomous Sailing.” The article suggested that by 2030 there would be remotely controlled ships and that by 2035 there would be MASS on the high seas.In 1974…

As the maritime industry continues to develop and test the technologies required for safe autonomous vessel operations, many regulatory questions have remained.Setting out to help answer some of these questions, the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has recently completed a regulatory scoping exercise to analyze relevant ship safety treaties, in order to assess how maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) could be regulated.The scoping exercise was initiated in 2017 to determine how safe…

Satellite communications provider Iridium Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service officially went live on Friday, December 11, ending a monopoly held by rival Inmarsat and enhancing the integrity of global safety communications for seafarers globally.GMDSS is an internationally regulated service, governed by the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention. It provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress and has required equipment on board more than 60…

The proliferation of serious fires onboard container ships in recent years has shocked the shipping industry. Here we examine the causes and impact of such fires and the urgent efforts being made by a wide variety of stakeholders to solve this seemingly intractable problem.Over the last decade there has been a 70% fall in ship total losses[1]. This has been widely credited to long term improvements in ship safety management and loss prevention programs. Counter to this trend, there has been a substantial increase in the number of fires in containers carried onboard container and RoRo ships.

Korean Register (KR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to conduct a joint study on “Ship Cyber Security Network Construction and Design Safety Evaluation” at the Marine Engineering Research Center of SHI.Under the MOU, the two organizations have agreed to evaluate the construction and design safety of cyber security networks applicable to new ships. In addition, they will jointly study technologies that can respond to cyber threats faced by ships…

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan describes a distinctly upbeat period in the worldwide ferry community – and explains how the global trade association plans to take its support to far-reaching new levels.There are times when the phrase “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” seems all too true, but here’s an honest number for you – ferries carry a global total of more than 2 billion passengers a year, which is almost on a par with airlines.Hard to believe? Not for those of us in the industry, but almost certainly for many citizens and politicians.

Japanese shipping company NYK has signed  a long-term industrial research and development project agreement with Tromsø-based Dualog which aims to result in a cutting-edge Cyberrisk Management System for vessels.The project announced today at the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo will receive two years of funding from the Norwegian government fund Innovation Norway.The agreement will see the development of digitized products and services across a test-bed of 50 vessels with a view to eventually being rolled out across NYKs self-operated fleet of 250 ships.The accord follows hot on the heels of a strategic partnership both companies signed in the summer of 2017…

Former Deputy Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority, Ms. Birgit Sølling Olsen, will receive IMO’s International Maritime Prize for 2017 on Thursday, 6 December. The award ceremony can be streamed live on IMO's website.A press note from Danish Maritime Authority said that the ceremony takes place in conjunction with the meeting of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee.Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority, Andreas Nordseth, said:  “We are all very proud of her. Birgit is highly respected by colleagues and stakeholders, from all over the world, for her professional expertise within the maritime field, and for her determination to find sustainable solutions that can gain broad support.”Birgit Sølling Olsen was nominated by the Government of Denmark…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says it is encouraged by efforts made by IMO Member States to resolve some pressing practical challenges ahead of the global implementation of the 0.5 percent sulphur in fuel cap on January 1, 2020.Speaking after an IMO working group meeting last week, to which the industry submitted a number of constructive proposals to help ensure smooth and consistent implementation, ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, remarked, “Although there is still much work to be done, last week’s IMO discussions were positive. Most important is that governments have acknowledged the safety concerns raised by industry about the use of compliant fuels including possible incompatibility.

The Cook Islands flag, operated by ship registry Maritime Cook Islands (MCI), has shown positive flag state performance, as reported in the latest report on Port State Control in the Asia Pacific Region by Tokyo MOU. The data and figures were published in the new report on Port State Control in the Asia Pacific by Tokyo MOU. The Tokyo MOU is “one of the most active regional port State control (PSC) organisations in the world” and consists of 20 member authorities in the Asia-Pacific region. In the recently published report, Cook Islands reported a decrease in the number of inspections with deficiencies; from 27 in 2016 to 20 in 2017. Number of deficiencies has also seen a significant decrease from 181 in 2016 to 116 in 2017.

As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates its 70th anniversary, Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, sits in his London office with a sense of satisfaction that in his two plus years at the helm of IMO tremendous strides have been made toward significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, punctuated by the recent MEPC meeting where the target was set for a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. But the Secretary- General’s sense of satisfaction is tempered with the fact that his job has just begun and his plate is full.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has highlighted the Organization’s work and response to a changing maritime security landscape.Speaking at the ‘Maritime security in the 21st century’ symposium at the Brazilian Naval War College, Rio de Janeiro (20 July), he said that “threats to the port and shipping sectors are constantly evolving and so is IMO’s response” and emphasized that “IMO is addressing the digital revolution in all aspects of its work”.Autonomous vessels, known as Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), was one of the issues raised by the Secretary-General, who said that IMO is currently assessing regulatory aspects in this field…

​Search and rescue (SAR) is a humanitarian process, aimed at assisting persons in distress, without regard to the nationality or circumstances of the persons in distress. International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's Chris Trelawny highlighted this global responsibility, during the first Coast Guard Global Summit, jointly hosted by the Japan Coast Guard and Tokyo-based Nippon Foundation, in Tokyo (14 September). He also outlined the international legal framework for SAR; the implementation of effective SAR systems; and the need for and benefit of international and inter-regional cooperation for effective SAR on a global basis. Search and rescue officials from more than 30 countries attended the summit.

The IMO NCSR Sub-Committee has approved the Danish Maritime Authority’s proposal for new ships’ routeing measures, thereby bringing new routes in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat one step closer and enhancing safety of navigation. Because of developments in shipping, the ships transiting these waters today are larger than those for which the routes were originally designed. Approx. 7,000 ships transit the Kattegat each year, the majority of which are deep-draught ships heading for or coming from the Baltic Sea. Consequently, there is a need to extend existing ships’ routes, thereby making it easier to keep the traffic separate in accordance with the largest water depths.