Regulations for Ship Safety - Assignment Example

Regulations and safe ships A modern day version of the Titanic disaster occurred on board the Andrea Doria in 1956 and the sinking of this ship is rated as the worst sea collision in history. (Smith, 1990). The ship had the newest safety equipment and modern technology in place, and both Andrea Doria and Stockholm, the other ship had radars installed, yet there was a full speed collision due to miscalculations. The fuel tanks on the ship were nearly empty, making her top heavy, apart from which a fatal flaw in the ship design was also discovered later.(Smith 1990). The SOLAS regulations for ship safety were introduced to prevent such accidents through better design and safety of ships. An important aspect of the regulations is the introduction of strict safety provisions which have been introduced under Chapter IX of SOLAS, which requires every ship to maintain certain safety standards, including procedures to ensure the safe operation of ships and procedures for responding to emergency situations (www.spc.int). Under Chapter 14 of the Safe ship Management System regulations of 2002, clause 9 establishes plans to ensure emergency preparedness on ships. Shipping companies are required to “establish procedures to identify describe and respond to potential emergency shipboard situations” and establish drills to prepare those on the ship for action in emergency situations. This is likely to be helpful in identifying potentially dangerous situations that could arise on a ship and thereby ensuring that adequate provision is made for effective response in such situations with the ship board personnel being adequately trained to respond to crises (www.spc.int:14) Clause 11 specifies that the ship’s equipment is to be well maintained, with inspections being carried at regular intervals (www.spc.int:15). Part III of the SOLAS requirements also spell out the need for operational readiness that is to be maintained through weekly and monthly inspections and through the servicing of launch appliances and on-load release gear. (www.imo.org/safety). Clause 10 of the Safe Ship Management Regulations of 2002 requires that the safety management system on a ship must also allow for the reporting of accidents and hazardous situations, followed up by investigation and analysis of the hazardous event or accident, so that such events do not occur again. Amendments have been made to the SOLAS Chapter III in reference to life saving appliances and arrangements available on the ships. Emergency training and drills are required to be conducted using lifeboats so that the personnel on board ship are aware what actions to take in an emergency.(www.imo.org/safety). All of the above provisions are calculated to enhance the safety provisions on ships. For instance, the new regulations on lifeboats may enable a better state of preparation during an emergency and could help to prevent the kind of situation that resulted on the Andrea Doria when the life boats were out of commission and could not be used. In 2006, there was a fire on board the cruise ship Star Princess and further amendments have been made to the SOLAS regulations, which are due to take effect from 2010 onwards. These regulations have introduced amendments to improve fire protection arrangements on ships (www.ssmaritime.com). Some of these measures include the installation of fire detection and alarm systems, fire prevention and evacuation systems. Apart from this, the new regulations which will go into effect in 2010 call for the strengthening of bulkheads on the ships to make them capable of withstanding a person’s weight, as well as fitting or upgrading ships so that they can transmit LRT information (www. imo.org.newsroom). Criteria for improving the casualty threshold have been introduced, which would enable passengers to remain safely on board a ship until it is able to return to port, even if it some part of it is damaged. These amendments have been introduced after carrying out a review of safety on passenger ships, to ensure that a casualty does not occur on the ship in the first place by improving the design and construction of the ship (www.ssmaritime.com). For instance, the new fire regulations when implemented, will make it compulsory for ships to maintain fire protection arrangements on ships. Early warning of fires will be possible, as well as extinguishing such fires in the early stages before it emerges as a major threat the way it did on the cruise ship, Star Princess. Similarly, the strengthening of bulkheads on the ships could be helpful to survivors caught up in an accident like the Herald of Free Enterprise, where a ship capsized and went over in seconds, filling up with water. (www.news.bbc.co.uk). The improvement of the casualty threshold would be useful in the case of a ship like the Stockholm which stuck the Andrea Doria and was damaged but was still able to safely get back into New York port despite damages sustained on the ship. These new regulations also have the effect of requiring most old ships to carry out substantial upgradations in a refit to meet the new standards of safety and construction that have been set out by the SOLAS regulations, due to go into effect in 2010. Most of the dangers that are posed in the sea are caused by old ships that are sailing with outdated equipment or where the safety standards may not be adequate to ensure that the ships is able to sail safely. Since it is likely to be expensive for owners of old ships to refit their ships to comply with the new regulations, there may be newer and safer ships plying more frequently. The requirement to carry out regular maintenance checks is also likely to be useful in this respect, in identifying any problems and defects on the ships which may be potentially harmful. Maintaining logs of accidents with complete reports on the events that occurred as well as the investigation and analysis will improve future safety of ships. The likely trouble spots in ships that could cause accidents will be identified and recorded so that precautions can be taken to ensure that such weak spots are addressed to improve safety standards of the ships. ……………………….1006 words 2. The Load Line Rules were devised to ensure that a ship has a sufficient amount of freeboard and is thus able to preserve certain levels of buoyancy to prevent sinking. Where commercial ships are concerned, the distance between the uppermost continuous deck and the water line represents the freeboard. This must comply with the Plimsoll line that is required on all ships in accordance with the SOLAS and international maritime conventions, indicating the maximum levels up to which the ship may be loaded, to ensure adequate freeboard and buoyancy. All ships are to be constructed and equipped in accordance with the Load Line rules, which spell out load depths in salt water. It is only after calculation of load that freeboards are assigned accordingly, load lines painted on the ship’s side and a five year certificate provided to the owners of the ship (Danton, 270). International load lines are assigned on ships that are 24m and over. The Lloyd’s Rule as laid out in 1880 laid out three inches per foot of depth of the hold as the desired freeboard to be provided (Desverges, 2006). In the 1800s British several ships were lost because cargo on those ships was loaded over and beyond the recommended load lines. The growing number of accidents due to overloading led to losses of ships. The Royal Committee which was set up in 1836 to investigate the accidents stated that bad design and improper building were the cause of the accidents rather than overloading (Desvares, 2006). In the 1860s, the high incidence of accidents led to a call for regulations. The insurance rates were impacting on ships and producing casualties and losses had doubled during the 1830s to the 1860s. Ship owners were deemed irresponsible and it was held that there was a need to make owners abide by good practices. This was when a British MP, Samuel Plimsoll took up the cause to make the marking of the load line compulsory on all ships registered with Lloyd’s in order to prevent the number of accidents resulting from the negligence of ship owners in overloading (Desverges, 2006). All vessels are required to be equipped with a United Kingdom Load line Certificate. If under conditions of zero list, the load line submerges below the specified levels, then the ship’s owner or master will be required to pay a fee of 2000 pounds, and an additional fee of 2000 pounds if the ship is sent out to sea while in an overloaded condition.(Danton, 270). The International Convention on Load Lines came into being on 5th April, 1966 and became enforceable from 21 July 1968. Some of the issues that were sought to be addressed were the prevention of the entry of water into the hull, ensuring adequate buoyancy and protection of the crew, limiting the water on the deck and also ensuring the structural strength of the hull. As a result, the load line Rules set out the conditions which ships have to adhere to prevent accidents, by taking into account potential hazards and to ensure that all the areas below the freehold deck are water tight. The Load Line Rules were modified by the Load Lines Protocol of 1988. The purpose of it was to harmonize the survey requirements of the International maritime Convention and to bring them in line with the requirements that are a part of SOLAS and MARPOL (www.imo.org). The Load Lines Protocol allows for one survey to be conducted harmonizing the requirements of all the three conventions, to avoid the problem of discordant survey dates and incongruent survey intervals. There have been several disasters and accidents in recent years, resulting in oil spills which have been damaging to the environment. Estimates from the Maritime Coastguard Agency indicate that there were about 104 tanker related accidents between 1998 and 2002 (www.wwf.org.uk). The Donaldson Report of 1994 set out certain recommendations to specify environmentally sensitive areas around the UK coast. These areas constitute a tenth of the UK coastline and have been termed as Marine Environmental High Risk Areas (MHERA), or the kind of areas where there may be a likelihood of a problem rising. Protective measures have been introduced to prevent accidents occurring in these areas, and all circumstances that may give rise to an increased risk of collision are to be regulated in the MHERA areas. The Load Line Rules ensure that adequate freehold is maintained so that there is sufficient buoyancy for the ship. These rules are relevant and useful in reducing the risk of accidents and sinking of ships and thereby contributing to pollution in these environmentally sensitive areas. ………………… 770 words References: * BBC News Report, 1987. “Hundreds trapped as car ferry capsizes”, Retrieved February 21, 2008 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/6/newsid_2515000/2515923.stm * Danton, Graham,1996. “The Theory and practice of seamanship”, Routledge * DesVerges, Jake, 2006. “International Load Line Convention has evolved over centuries”, Retrieved February 19, 2008 from: http://www.the-triton.com/megayachtnews/index.php?news=1023 * International Convention on Load Lines”, Retrieved February 19, 2008 from: http://www.imo.org/Conventions/mainframe.asp?topic_id=254 * Long range identification and tracking of ships: SOLAS amendment enters into force on 1 January 2008. retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=1472&doc_id=8836 * Shipping (Safe Ship Management Systems) Regulations 20YY. Retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://spc.int/Maritime/documents/PIMLAR/2.14%20Safe%20Ship%20Management%20Syst%20Regs.pdf * Smith, Russell, 1990. “The sinking of the Andrea Doria” Sweetwater Reporter News, retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://www.kerbow.com/marykatherine.htm * SOLAS 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://www.ssmaritime.com/SOLAS.htm * Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSAAs) and Marine Environmentally High Risk Areas (MEHRAs), retrieved February 19, 2008 from: http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/jmpbriefing_0903.pdf * Prevention of accidents involving lifeboats. Retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp?topic_id=1410 Read More