The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose member national shipowners’ associations negotiated the text of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), has issued advice to shipowners to help them pre-empt port state control problems when the Convention enters in force, next month, on 20 August.

The advice – contained in a brochure which can be downloaded free of charge via the ICS website – explains the measures that port state control officers are entitled to take, which initially will vary from country to country depending upon the date when the port state ratified the Convention.

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe explained: “The enforcement mechanism is new and is complicated by the fact that the MLC does not actually require flag states that have ratified the Convention to issue certification immediately. The ILO Diplomatic Conference which adopted the MLC in 2006 also adopted a Resolution agreeing that port states should take a pragmatic approach to enforcement for the first 12 months following entry into force worldwide. But it is still rather unclear how this will be applied in practice. Shipowners should therefore take sensible precautions.”

Mr Hinchliffe added: “Regardless of the progress which may or may not have been made by a vessel’s flag state, ships are required to meet the standards in the Convention. Our brochure therefore seeks to explain the current situation and the measures that operators might take to demonstrate compliance, even if they have not yet been issued with MLC certification.”

An important part of PSC enforcement will be the Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (DMLC), a part of which requires companies to complete themselves for each of their ships, and which should serve as prima facie evidence that the ship meets MLC standards.

ICS therefore recommends that companies prepare, for all their ships, a DMLC Part II before 20 August, in order to minimise potential difficulties should their ships be subjected to PSC enforcement under the MLC.

In the event that the flag state has not yet ratified the Convention, or has not yet issued ships with a DMLC Part I containing details of the national requirements with which ships should demonstrate compliance, ICS suggests that companies should nevertheless prepare a DMLC Part II for all their ships – even if this has to be adjusted once the flag state is ready to issue guidance. ICS suggests that companies can refer to the model contained in the ‘International Shipping Federation (ISF) Guidelines on the Application of the MLC’ which were produced by ICS last year.

ICS also recommends that ships carry evidence to show they have contacted their flag state requesting inspection for compliance with the MLC and the format required for the completion of the DMLC.

Mr Hinchliffe remarked: “It is incumbent on flag states, even if they have not yet ratified the ILO Convention, to provide ships with a DMLC Part I as soon as possible as well as detailed advice to shipowners about preparing the DMLC Part II and the particular national format and content that may be required. Our hope is that port states will indeed take a pragmatic approach, as requested by the ILO Conference. But ship operators should not take this for granted and should ensure that they are prepared for global entry into force as far as possible.”

The ICS brochure can also be downloaded free of charge at: www.ics-shipping.org/ilopscguidance.pdf

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) held its Annual General Meeting in Oslo from 5-7 June at the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA).

(The ICS AGM was preceded by a Summit with Ministers from various governments jointly hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, NSA and ICS, which focused on Arctic shipping issues – see separate press release).

National shipowners’ associations from Europe, Asia and the Americas, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet, considered pressing international issues of concern to global shipowners and operators.

Matters discussed included the challenges associated with the implementation of new International Maritime Organization (IMO) environmental regulations, and industry preparations for the entry into force of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention.

The meeting also formally embraced the Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) as ICS Regional Partners, and elected four Vice Chairmen for 2013-2015.

Impact of New Environmental Regulations

ICS members reviewed their efforts to communicate to regulators about the need for full account to be taken of the industry’s long term economic sustainability.  In view of shipping’s importance to the continuing spread of global prosperity and the movement of about 90% of trade in goods, energy and raw materials, ICS members agreed that government regulators should give equal priority to each of the three pillars of sustainable development: environmental, social and economic.

“ICS members greatly welcomed the IMO Secretary-General’s personal commitment towards producing sustainable development goals for the international shipping industry and agreed that ICS will continue to participate actively in this important process” said ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka.

“The vital need to protect the environment and for ships to comply fully with all new environmental regulations is fully recognised by ICS” explained Mr Morooka.  “But as part of IMO’s new focus on sustainable development, ICS members reiterated the importance of all proposals for any future IMO environmental regulation being subjected to a full and proper cost benefit analysis, in a similar manner to proposals relating to the improvement of maritime safety.”

ICS members expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the recent IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting.  This included the agreement, in principle, to allow the retrofitting of new ballast water treatment equipment to be spread over a five year period, rather than two or three years as the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention currently requires, and to treat ships constructed before the Convention enters into force as ‘existing ships’.

Mr Morooka said  “If this commitment to amend the BWM Convention as soon as it enters into force is confirmed as we hope by the IMO Assembly in November, this will remove a great deal of the uncertainty that has been hanging over the industry for many years.  We are very pleased that governments have broadly listened to ICS as we have explained our concerns about these complex implementation challenges.”

With respect to the imminent switch to distillate fuel that will be required to comply with new IMO sulphur regulations, beginning with the 0.1% sulphur in fuel requirements in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) from 2015, ICS members continued to express concern about fuel availability.  The ICS AGM therefore reaffirmed its long standing call on governments to advance the timing of the fuel availability study that IMO must complete under the terms of the MARPOL Convention.

“We will continue to press governments on this issue to raise much needed awareness of the wider implications of the introduction of the global sulphur cap as well as the impact of the ECA requirements” said Mr Morooka. “The massive increase in demand for distillate fuel for ships is also likely to have economic and practical impacts on shore based transport and industry.  With respect to the ECAs, the potential for modal shift away from efficient maritime transport services may also have a negative net effect on the environment.  We think it most important that the impacts of these major changes are fully understood by governments as they implement the MARPOL requirements.”

With respect to discussions at IMO about the establishment of a mandatory system of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of CO2 emissions (known as ‘MRV’), Mr Morooka remarked “ICS will fully support the concept of MRV, provided that any measure adopted is developed and agreed at IMO, and that it will be simple to administer and based primarily on fuel consumption measured by bunker delivery notes.”

However, the AGM reaffirmed that ICS support for the development of an MRV mechanism does not imply acceptance of MRV itself being used for the eventual development of any other Market Based Measure, or the mandatory application of energy indexing measures to existing ships.”

ILO Maritime Labour Convention

ICS members welcomed the entry into force of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) in August this year, but stressed the importance of shipping companies being ready to demonstrate compliance.  However, there is concern that smooth implementation of the MLC may be hampered by the large number of nations that have still yet to ratify the Convention, as well as the lack of guidance from some flag states on detailed national provisions as the MLC requires.

“We agreed that it is vital that shipping companies prepare a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance, Part II, for each of their ships as soon as possible. ICS welcomes the recent agreement by the Paris MOU on Port State Control that full PSC enforcement should not begin until August 2014, in line with a Resolution passed by the ILO in 2006” said the ICS Chairman.  “But some national authorities may still decide to take a different approach towards PSC enforcement.  It is therefore most important that companies are as prepared as they can be by August if they want to avoid possible problems.”

ICS agreed to issue further guidance to its members on preparations for PSC enforcement very shortly, in addition to that already contained in its widely used ‘ISF Guidelines on the Application of the ILO MLC’.

The ICS AGM also noted the importance of ships being able to demonstrate full compliance with IMO/ILO work hour regulations, including the maintenance of individual records, since this requirement would be enforced, in line with the STCW Convention, regardless of the approach taken towards immediate PSC enforcement of the ILO MLC.

“ICS members were directly responsible for the negotiation of the MLC in 2006 and we therefore have a special interest in helping to ensure that implementation is as smooth as possible” said Mr Morooka.

Regional Partners

The ICS AGM agreed to embrace the Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) as ICS Regional Partners.

“Relations with ASF and ECSA have always been highly productive and cordial given our common membership of national shipowners’ associations.  However, by referring to ASF and ECSA as our Regional Partners, the nature of our very close relationship will hopefully be better understood by governments and by the industry at large” said Mr Morooka.

Elections

The ICS AGM elected four Vice Chairmen for 2013-2015: Mr John C Lyras (Greece), Mrs Karin Orsel (Netherlands), Gerardo Borromeo (Philippines) and Mr Esben Poulsson (Singapore).

Mr Morooka (Japan) continues to serve as ICS Chairman having been elected for a two year term in 2012.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published new guidance for shipowners on how shipping companies and crews can implement an effective ‘safety culture’.

The new ICS Guidelines, being distributed free of charge throughout the industry, were launched at a reception today, sponsored by ICS, for Governments attending the IMO Symposium on the Future of Ship Safety in London.

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, explained: “Our brochure is intended to provide some basic advice to companies on the successful implementation of an effective safety culture. This covers the vital need for all concerned, at sea and ashore, to understand the relationship between unsafe acts and serious incidents that may result with loss of life. In particular our brochure emphasises the need to change behaviour and to avoid negative attitudes and complacency.”

The new ICS brochure explains that there are three essential components to developing a safety culture: commitment from the top, measuring performance, and then modifying behaviour. The brochure also stresses the importance of accident and ‘near miss’ reporting, and the establishment of a ‘just culture’ approach whereby shipping company personnel are encouraged to provide essential safety related information whenever something might have gone wrong, but without fear of punishment.

Peter Hinchliffe added: “Repeated analysis demonstrates that serious accidents in shipping are nearly always due to a failure to follow established procedures. Our goal is to ensure that all company personnel believe in safety, think safety and are committed to safety. Hopefully our new brochure will contribute to this objective.”

The new ICS brochure is available via ICS member national shipowners’ associations, but can also be downloaded free of charge from the homepage of the ICS website or via
http://www.ics-shipping.org/SafetyCulture.pdf

At a Summit in Oslo on 5 June, Board Members of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) met with Ministers from major shipping nations and the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to discuss Arctic Shipping.

The Oslo 2013 Maritime Summit, coordinated by the Norwegian Government and attended by Ministers and senior officials from Greece, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, United States and the European Commission, underlined the need for government and industry cooperation in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Arctic in a way that reconciles the need for both environmental and economic sustainability.

ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, explained: “ICS was keen to stress the importance of Arctic nations avoiding unilateral measures that might cut across IMO Conventions or the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

He stressed the immediate priority for ICS was to continue to work within IMO to assist in the completion and adoption by governments of the IMO Polar Code, which is expected to become mandatory via amendments to the SOLAS and MARPOL Conventions in 2014.

“ICS believes that the development of the Polar Code needs to be risk-based, so that requirements imposed on ships take full account of the hazards relevant to the type of ship operation, the ship location and the season of operation,” said Mr Morooka.

ICS members also set out a number of further principles regarding the future governance of Arctic waters. These included the need for Arctic coastal states to avoid imposing discriminatory treatment that might prejudice the rights of ships registered with non-Arctic nations, as well as the importance of appropriate fees for services.

ICS also called for clarity regarding the legal status of Arctic waters. “As remote Arctic sea routes become accessible these once academic issues are becoming increasingly important,” said Mr Morooka.

ICS argues that the UNCLOS regime of ‘transit passage’ for straits used in international navigation takes precedence over the rights of coastal states to enact unilateral measures against international shipping.

The Summit concluded by emphasising the importance of governments and shipowners, as represented by ICS, co-operating to ensure that the draft IMO Polar Code is adopted and implemented as soon as possible.