Vol. 114 - No. 99 - May25, 2010

IMO Adopts Ship Construction Standards

The International Maritime Organization said its Maritime Safety Committee last week adopted goal-based standards for oil tankers and bulk carriers.

In what the United Nations affiliate said was a historic change, newly constructed tankers and bulk carriers will have to comply with structural standards conforming to functional requirements developed and agreed to by the committee. It's the first time IMO will be setting standards for ship construction.

The committee also adopted guidelines that give the IMO a role in verifying conformity with requirements under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The guidelines establish the procedures to be followed in order to verify that the design and construction rules of a state administration or its recognized organization for bulk carriers and oil tankers, conform to the goal-based standards.

The adoption of goal-based standards is "a significant and important breakthrough for the organization, not only in terms of how future regulations will be developed, but also with respect to the role that IMO will play in verifying conformity with SOLAS requirements," said IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos. "The concept that IMO should state what has to be achieved, leaving classification societies, ship designers and naval architects, marine engineers and ship builders the freedom to decide on how best to employ their professional skills to meet the required standards is a sound one."