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The principal objective of the Maritime Transport Committee at its meeting on 13/14 November 2003 was to take forward priority work on security and maritime safety. In addition, as part of ongoing consultations with industry, the Committee benefited from an excellent presentation on behalf of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) on some of the challenges facing class in improving quality and safety, and the role IACS plays in terms of setting rules, implementing and monitoring them.
Estonia and the Russian Federation, and the International Maritime Organization, participated as observers in the meeting. The Business Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) also contributed to the discussions.
Industry Seminar
The Permanent Secretary of IACS brought the Committee up to date with current initiatives undertaken by class to improve safety on the basis of a zero tolerance attitude. Despite records showing a continued improvement in loss of life, as well as in bulk carrier losses and tanker incidents, the importance of continuing to improve the quality of operations and safety awareness throughout the whole of industry was stressed.
There was a perceived need to strike a balance between regulation and self-regulation, and for requirements for more transparency in the entire regulatory process. With respect to transparency, IACS played a key role in liaising with the International Maritime Organization, Flag States, Port States and Industry Associations. IACs advocated the need to raise standards to build more robust and durable ships, and outlined their initiatives to contribute to the definition of goal-based standards for new buildings. It was noted that the standards for long-term operation and maintenance of existing vessels also needed to be raised. The IACS Quality System Certification Scheme (QSCS) was one of the important tools to achieve consistency among Members in terms of quality policy and all processes relevant to ship classification and certification.
Finally, IAC’s important role with respect to the preparation of security plans and the issuing of ships’ security certificates to meet the 1 July 2004 deadline for the new International Ship and Port Facilities Security (ISPS) Code was noted.
Security in Maritime Transport
Update of maritime security activities
Participants brought each other up to date with respect to new security regulations and measures taken in respect of the IMO International Ship Port Facilities Security (ISPS) Code, the revised SOLAS Convention, and the United States Container Security Initiative (CSI). The majority of MTC members were confident that they were on schedule for the implementation of these regulations. Many had put in place structures for approving Recognised Security Organisations (RSOs), had started training programmes for port security officers, and commenced the recruitment of police officers and other security personnel.
Ownership and Control
As part of a series of security initiatives, the MTC produced a paper “Ownership and Control of Ships” released in March 2003 that examined corporate vehicles and mechanisms, and global ship registration procedures, to assess the possibilities available to beneficial owners to mask or hide their identity. Participants at this November meeting considered a second Secretariat paper that outlined actions that could be taken by jurisdictions and ship registers to increase the transparency of beneficial ownership of ships. It was agreed that the Committee could benefit from having the paper discussed in a wider circle before drawing any conclusions on how to take the project forward. The Secretariat will shortly be releasing its discussion paper on its website to encourage discussion and feedback from interested parties.
Safety and the Environment
Safety Initiatives
The Committee considered ways it could contribute to work currently being undertaken by the UN, IMO and ILO to effectively minimize the incidence of major maritime catastrophes. The need to avoid duplication of work undertaken by these bodies was recognised, as was the need for the MTC to focus on specific areas where it could add value to current initiatives, and which could eventually be fed into a wider forum. The Secretariat was instructed to consider further a number of possible initiatives for future detailed consideration by the Committee.
Possible Incentives
In the context of the work being undertaken within the framework of the MTC’s Policy Statement on Substandard Shipping, the Committee considered a second paper on the concept of incentives for quality shipping. This new document expanded upon the first by including the human element, discussing selected budget neutral incentives, and elaborating upon certain disincentives aimed at narrowing the non-commercial competitive gap enjoyed by substandard operators.
Participants supported the notion of performance based standards in determining the application of any incentive/disincentives, as this would avoid the creation of new standards or the need for special inspections. The Committee also recognised that the human element was vital in the consideration of any scheme. Emphasis was also placed on further consideration of disincentives and stronger penalties for substandard operations. Further thought also needed to be given to the administration of any such schemes to ensure that they were not burdensome or costly.
As many of the proposals would either require consultation with other government bodies or involve participation from industry, the Committee directed the Secretariat to undertake further consultations with affected parties prior to the Committee reverting to the issue.
FlagStatePerformance
The MTC’s Policy Statement on Substandard Shipping includes a commitment to strengthen the implementation of international rules and standards in order to strengthen action to review and enforce flag state performance. The Committee discussed how it might give effect to that commitment, whilst recognising the prime competence of the International Maritime Organization, notably the important work undertaken by the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI).
The Committee will be exploring alternatives to further the case of improving flag state performance, including working through the IMO and ILO and consulting with its non-member partners.
General approach to current MTC issues
The Committee in concluding discussion of the agenda items on safety and the environment noted that amongst the possible action items under consideration at the MTC, there were several common threads that interlinked with action under way in other international organisations, and which would therefore benefit from consultation with those organisations, industry and other government/intergovernmental bodies.
It was agreed that the MTC would reflect on issues it considered pertinent to take forward, and which could benefit from contributions from a wider circle, and would consider, inter-sessionally, proposals by the Secretariat for a special meeting on substandard shipping to be possibly held in 2004.
World Trade Organization
The Committee noted that since the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Cancun in September this year, negotiations on a wide range of subjects had come to a stand still. However, it was expected that these negotiations would start up again following a high level meeting expected in December 2003.
Dialogue with Non-Members
A high priority for the Committee is to deepen the relationship with its non-member partners by encouraging them to participate more actively in its work. The Committee identified both completed and current programme of work issues that could be of interest to its non-member partners and asked the Secretariat to commence the task of taking these forward.
Future meetings
The next meeting of the Committee will be held in June 2004.
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