Work through national administrations to consider further whether the possession of P&I membership might be accepted as constituting evidence of appropriate third party cover.
Support and encourage the decision of P&I Clubs that no vessel would be entered without ISM Certification, as well as their future consideration of the proposal that ISM Certification would be made a condition of cover at the next renewal of vessels' cover. It is anticipated that these initiatives would be uniformly applied among all clubs in the International Groups.
Discuss with the managers of existing shipper inspection schemes the scope for further integration and development of those schemes.
Encourage greater dialogue between the shipper scheme administrators, other organisations that generate similar information (such as IACS) and national administrations in order to improve and facilitate the flow of information.
While acknowledging that because of its generally fragmented nature there is no single international body representing dry bulk shippers, bring together those dry bulk shippers that have in-house vetting arrangements, as well as potential new participants, to consider integrating those arrangements in order to provide a more extensive and effective coverage of their sector.
Discuss with shipbrokers how to enhance their role in avoiding the chartering of substandard vessels, including the possible introduction of a widespread Code of Best Practice among shipbrokers.
Investigate how to enhance access to relevant, easily accessible and up-to-date information, especially from port state control inspections, to assist shipbrokers in action to combat substandard shipping.
Discuss with ship financiers the specific issue of the retention and use of their rights to access relevant information on ships financed by them especially from classification societies, insurers and port state control authorities.
Because of the prominence and importance given to the transparency of information, and the fact that it involves all industry participants, the MTC will examine in 1999 specific ways in which relevant, up-to-date information, in compatible formats, can be made more accessible to all parties through: i) giving specific recognition to the fact that some information will have proprietary value, and may therefore require special measures to facilitate access; and ii) in the interim, the Maritime Transport Committee establishing an Internet page on its web site, dedicated to substandard shipping, which will include links to bodies (such as IACS and port state control authorities) that provide relevant, publicly available information on substandard shipping.
Discuss with governments and industry representatives the issue of legal liability, which may be created by the reasonable dissemination and use of information regarding substandard ships.
Discuss with OECD Member countries (as well as with non-Member countries through the MTC's outreach programme) the prompt release of the results of their port state control inspections, as well as their self-assessments of flag state performance; the latter through the IMO.
