An MSC circular on advising administrations, port state control authorities, companies, port terminals and masters regarding the SOLAS requirements was agreed by the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO.
It noted concerns in regards to the application of requirements to a container which was loaded before July 1, 2016 and then transhipped.
The committee said that in the first few months some leeway should be provided in order for any problems resulting from software updates to be rectified without causing delays to containers being loaded.
MSC agreed that there should be no delay in the implementation of the SOLAS requirements but it would be beneficial if administrations and authorities took a ‘practical and pragmatic’ approach when enforcing said regulations in the first three months.