IMO A28 Resolutions have just been published. The Assembly adopted a number of resolutions submitted by the various IMO Committees and by the Council's 27th Extraordinary Session. The topics covered include:

• Prevention and suppression of piracy, armed robbery against ships and illicit maritime activity in the Gulf of Guinea;

• Guidelines on the preservation and collection of evidence following an allegation of a serious crime having taken place on board a ship or following a report of a missing person from a ship, and pastoral and medical care of persons affected;

• Revised guidelines on the implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code by Administrations;

• Revised guidelines for a structure of an integrated system of contingency planning for shipboard emergencies;

• Guidelines to assist investigators in the implementation of the Casualty Investigation Code;

• Fair treatment of crew members in respect of shore leave and access to shore-side facilities;

• Recommendations for the training and certification of personnel on mobile offshore units (MOUs);

• Application of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004;

• Entry into force and implementation of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977;

• Implementation of the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL);

• Voluntary application of the IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme to fishing vessels of 100 gross tons and above;

• Amendments to the survey guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC);

• Guidelines for the designation of special areas under MARPOL;

• Amendments to the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (1966 LL Convention), to shift the Winter Seasonal Zone off the southern tip of Africa further southward by 50 miles;

• Recommendation on the use of adequately qualified deep-sea pilots in the North Sea, English Channel and Skagerrak; and in the Baltic Sea; and

• Recommendation on the use of national tonnage in applying international conventions.

The publication can be ordered from the IMO web site.

Source of information

Loss Prevention