At the time of writing, the IMO’s 87th meeting of its Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has just concluded, after its usual eight meeting days. However, it was on the third day that it reached the report from its Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers Sub Committee (DSC). This came from the DSC’s 14th meeting held last September and it presented MSC with a number of decisions which relate to cargo operations and at least one of which can be described as momentous.
IMDG amendment
The first decision was to approve the 35th amendment to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code). The Code is revised on a regular two yearly cycle, corresponding with the same periodicity as the overall UN Committee of Experts’ Orange Book and all the other international mode codes (road, rail, air and inland waterway). DSC takes the latest revision of the Orange Book and, with the help of an expert Editorial and Technical Group, turns that into a suitable and harmonious amendment to the IMDG Code. The 35th amendment will be available in hard and electronic copies by the end of the year, when there will be a transition year with the 34th amendment in 2011, before finally coming into mandatory force on 1 January 2012.
BLU Code amendment
This was followed by amendments to two other IMO publications. The Code of Safe Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Solid Bulk Cargoes (the BLU Code) was first adopted in 1997 and was one of a string of international measures adopted at the IMO in response to the oft repeated tragedies of bulk carriers and their crews being lost at sea in the 1990s. The thinking was that high-speed loading rates could over-stress the fabric of the ship and could have caused the failures at sea. The basic principle of the BLU Code is that the master of the ship and a terminal representative would agree on a loading or discharging plan and that that would be the basis for the entire operation. Since then, the Code has been extended to cover grain and there has been a manual developed for terminal representatives as that was an entirely new concept. Arising from the first review of the Code itself, the report from DSC/14 proposed some changes to the Code and these were agreed by MSC. The Code is mandatory within the European Union but recommendatory elsewhere at present. However, every terminal loading dry bulk cargoes would be best advised to follow it in order to avoid being accused of causing a casualty.
Safe container lashing
The MSC was also invited to agree to some amendments to its Container Safety Convention of 1972. However, arguably the most important of the issues was a set of guidelines requested by MSC/80 in May 2005. This in turn arose from a compelling proposal from the UK delegation which said that a substantial number of purpose built container ships were not making proper provision for the safe lashing of deck containers. In fact, some ships made no provision at all and deficiencies in this respect were being found on both older ships and new ships. It was not a coincidence, therefore, that this activity was a major cause of injury to shoreside workers who lashed and unlashed the hundreds of containers carried on deck. As seamen have to check lashings, possibly tighten them and even supplement them, all whilst the ship is moving through a seaway, the problem was so acute that MSC readily agreed to develop a set of guidelines; and that they would take the form of a new Annex 14 to the Cargo Stowage and Securing Code (the CSS Code). In the normal way, MSC then instructed DSC to carry out the drafting work and the documents before MSC/87 were the outcome of that. There are a number of different lashing positions on the deck, including pedestal or chimney stow stacks, athwartships between container stacks and adjoining hatch covers. These are all covered in the new Annex, as is also the relatively recent development of lashing gantries or bridges. Another aspect of the securing of deck containers is that dockworkers have to go out on the top of the stacks and go to the very corner and lean over to lock/unlock the upper layers. In a landside environment that would not be permitted without a protecting fence and there have been falls over the years. The introduction of semi automatic twistlocks (SATLs) did improve matters and the stevedoring industry devised a number of ways to make the work safe as well as access the working site safely. Annex 14 not only gives guidance on practical measures that can be taken with existing ships but requires new ships whose keel is laid on or after 1 January 2015 to be designed to take these issues into account. As these types of ships have had their deck space taken up with more and more boxes, it is going to be a challenge to provide sufficient space in the future.
*Mike Compton is the Chairman of the International Safety Panel of ICHCA International. He is a regular contributor to GreenPort Journal about safety issues and he is the organizer of the Safe Cargo Handling Seminars, organized in conjunction with the GreenPort Conferences. He can be contacted on mike.portsafety@btconnect.com