Danish Initiative on Safety Underway in IMO

Upon the initiative of Denmark, an IMO Sub-Committee developed guidelines that will result in enhanced safety and fewer accidents when transferring persons from one ship to another at sea.

Due to a tragic accident during the transfer of a person in the roads of Copenhagen in 2010, Denmark drafted guidelines containing measures to be taken when transferring persons at sea. The measures take account of all the elements of a transfer at sea – the preparation, carrying out and preparedness.

Denmark submitted the Danish guidelines to the IMO hoping that it could become international, and now a great step has been taken towards succeeding in this. At its recent meeting, the IMO Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) finalised the international guidelines, and now they are to be approved by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).

Other items on the agenda were the following:

• Training requirements when navigating polar regions.

• Training requirements when navigating ships fuelled by LNG.

• Development of an IMO Model Course on Leadership and Teamwork.

• Development of an IMO Model Course for Electro-Technical Officers (ETO).

• Inclusion of the STCW Convention in IMO audits (the III Code).

• Reactivation of the Safety Management Certificate following a lay-up.

[mappress]
DMA, May 31, 2013