The rescue of all persons in distress at sea – including illegal migrants – is an obligation under international maritime law, as well as being a long established humanitarian duty, says the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). ICS is the global trade association for commercial ship operators, whose ships are currently involved on a daily basis in the rescue of refugees at sea in the Mediterranean.

Whatever may be decided by policy makers in EU Member States, the legal and humanitarian obligation of merchant ships to provide assistance to anyone in distress at sea will remain unchanged, says ICS.

Commenting on new reports that some European Union Ministers have expressed concerns that search and rescue operations have acted as a ‘pull factor’ for illegal migration, encouraging people to make dangerous crossings in the expectation of rescue, ICS notes that merchant ships are legally required to rescue persons in distress at sea by the UN International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), to which virtually every maritime nation is a Party.

Under SOLAS, and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, the obligation of the ship Master to render assistance is complemented by a corresponding obligation of IMO Member States to co-operate in rescue situations, thereby relieving the Master of the responsibility to care for survivors, and allowing individuals who are rescued at sea in such circumstances to be delivered promptly to a place of safety.

The shipping industry is therefore very concerned by reports that the new EU Frontex operation ‘Triton’ will have a third of the budget of the current Italian ‘Mare Nostrum’ operation which it replaces, that its primary focus will be border control, and that search and rescue operations may be reduced in international waters.

It will clearly be much more difficult for merchant ships to save lives at sea without the adequate provision of search and rescue services by EU Member States. Moreover, whenever a ship performs its legal and humanitarian obligations, it will continue to be incumbent on EU Member States to ensure that those who are rescued can be readily disembarked at the next port of call, even when they may lack documentation.

Governments attending the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) this week have made real progress towards agreeing solutions to major issues that have previously impeded ratification of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, says the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the global trade association for ship operators.

Speaking at IMO headquarters, ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, remarked “We are very pleased that IMO Member States have fully acknowledged the shipping industry’s concerns by agreeing to start work immediately on a revision of the G8 type-approval guidelines to make the process for approving ballast water treatment equipment more robust. In the meantime, it has also been agreed, in principle, that any shipowner that has invested in first generation treatment equipment, type-approved under the current G8 guidelines, should not be penalised, provided that the equipment is operated and maintained correctly. The adoption by IMO of new Port State Control guidelines reflecting a fair and pragmatic approach to inspection is also an important additional step.”

Mr Hinchliffe added “While some of the details still need to be finalised by the MEPC next year, an MEPC Resolution adopted at this meeting should do much to build confidence in the Convention amongst both shipowners and IMO Member States.”

The Round Table of international shipping industry associations has released an updated version of ‘Guidelines for Owners, Operators and Masters for Protection Against Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea Region.’ The Guidelines have been jointly developed by BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO.

Piracy and armed robbery in the waters off West Africa has become an established criminal activity of very serious concern to the maritime sector. Incidents have recently occurred as far south as Angola and as far north as Sierra Leone. These attacks have become increasingly violent, often involving firearms, and cases of kidnapping for ransom have also become more common. The global shipping industry has therefore acted in concert to update its existing Guidelines to take account of what has become a totally unacceptable security situation.

Although the nature of the attacks against shipping in West Africa differs from that of Somalia-based piracy, the basic principles of the Best Management Practices, previously developed by the industry to help protect against piracy in the Indian Ocean, are also applicable.  The Guidelines should therefore be read in conjunction with BMP4, but seek to tailor this to the specifics of the threat in West Africa, providing comprehensive advice on avoiding and deterring criminal acts and armed robbery in the region.

The updated Guidelines also take into account of new regional maritime security initiatives in West Africa, in particular the Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre for the Gulf of Guinea (MTISC GOG), which is now providing a focal point for information on countering piracy and maritime crime in the region. The Guidelines have therefore been released in conjunction with the launch of the new MTISC GOG website which includes Regional Maritime Security Guidance and MTISC-GOG reporting procedures so as to help ensure a co-ordinated approach amongst ships operating in the Gulf of Guinea.

The revised industry Guidelines can be downloaded free of charge from the websites of BIMCO, ICS, INTERCARGO AND INTERTANKO.