What role does IACS play ?
As one would expect from an organisation of such influence, the headquarters of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) rubs shoulders with some pretty good company. Tucked around the corner from the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, its offices exude an air of quiet authority.
Richard Leslie, the recently appointed Permanent Secretary at IACS, is keen to stress just how closely the organisation is working with IMO. 'The IMO forum is very important for us and very important for the safety of ships at sea. IMO takes technical issues on from IACS, and if agreed, into their conventions. It is important that is understood. It is a very fundamental role.'
He barely has time to pause for breath as he reels off a list of some of the 150 initiatives IACS is currently involved in. 'We are going to produce information papers to DE46, which is the precursor to the next MSC; on S26, which is the strength and security of small hatches on exposed foredeck; and on S31, which is the renewal criteria for sideshell frames on single hull bulk carriers. We're going to submit a revision to the Shipbuilding and Repair Quality Standards, we're going to be submitting URS1 and S1A, which is the requirement for loading conditions, loading manuals and loading instruments; and URS30, which is the securing arrangements for hatches for bulk carriers on existing ships. We've got the practicalities of the water ingress detection systems that were agreed at MSC.'
IACS is also working with industry on the subjects of' Water Ingress Alarms and 'Means of Access' to ensure the new IMO regulations are implemented in a practical way, which will comply with the revised loadline convention. 'We're obviously going to update the work that's going on with double skin bulk carriers, and in relation to that we've already begun to think about important issues like minimum width of the double sides, 'he says.
IACS will also be working with poorly performing Flag States, providing a new model to improve performance: 'That model is going to be offered to most of the black listed flags.
The Societies are going in pairs or sometime threes, so it will not be a single society that is going, which will create a greater uniformity in the application of this help. Our plan is to have established whether these states will accept our help within the first six months of this year.'
Uniformity on a global scale is crucial if standards are to be maintained: 'We certainly believe that shipping is a global event and we're seeking safety at sea across the whole globe. The right forum for that is IMO. If one has single regional areas with different rules, that will not help safety at sea on a global basis. Of course, we believe that any move towards safety and the prevention of pollution should have a very sound and technical base. Any hasty political moves may lead to side effects, a result of which will be a less safe environment.'
This is also true for the security issue, which has seen much activity: 'All the societies are working on the subject of security. There are short time-frames to get an enormous amount of work done, training in particular. In parallel we have set up a working group to look at unifying our approach on security matters.'
A further issue that IACS is closely involved in is the transparency for the provision of information. 'Transparency for the provision of information requires both a change in the contract for a shipowner and agreement from the flag states to divulge information,' he says. 'In the light of European legislation, this has accelerated so that our website can carry full information about the status of a ship. In the case of shipowners, I think that work is now fully complete. In the case of flag states, there are approximately half that have given their permission to date, but there is still time. If a flag state has not given its permission to give the information, we can't provide it. Therefore the matter of transparency is complex, but huge improvements and huge strides forward have been taken.'
Ultimately, safety costs money, and in a harsh commercial world that is often difficult to justify. 'But if safety is risk, and risk equals higher premiums, then you save your premiums if you attend to risk,' he says.
Source: IMarEST Review
Richard Leslie, the recently appointed Permanent Secretary at IACS, is keen to stress just how closely the organisation is working with IMO. 'The IMO forum is very important for us and very important for the safety of ships at sea. IMO takes technical issues on from IACS, and if agreed, into their conventions. It is important that is understood. It is a very fundamental role.'
He barely has time to pause for breath as he reels off a list of some of the 150 initiatives IACS is currently involved in. 'We are going to produce information papers to DE46, which is the precursor to the next MSC; on S26, which is the strength and security of small hatches on exposed foredeck; and on S31, which is the renewal criteria for sideshell frames on single hull bulk carriers. We're going to submit a revision to the Shipbuilding and Repair Quality Standards, we're going to be submitting URS1 and S1A, which is the requirement for loading conditions, loading manuals and loading instruments; and URS30, which is the securing arrangements for hatches for bulk carriers on existing ships. We've got the practicalities of the water ingress detection systems that were agreed at MSC.'
IACS is also working with industry on the subjects of' Water Ingress Alarms and 'Means of Access' to ensure the new IMO regulations are implemented in a practical way, which will comply with the revised loadline convention. 'We're obviously going to update the work that's going on with double skin bulk carriers, and in relation to that we've already begun to think about important issues like minimum width of the double sides, 'he says.
IACS will also be working with poorly performing Flag States, providing a new model to improve performance: 'That model is going to be offered to most of the black listed flags.
The Societies are going in pairs or sometime threes, so it will not be a single society that is going, which will create a greater uniformity in the application of this help. Our plan is to have established whether these states will accept our help within the first six months of this year.'
Uniformity on a global scale is crucial if standards are to be maintained: 'We certainly believe that shipping is a global event and we're seeking safety at sea across the whole globe. The right forum for that is IMO. If one has single regional areas with different rules, that will not help safety at sea on a global basis. Of course, we believe that any move towards safety and the prevention of pollution should have a very sound and technical base. Any hasty political moves may lead to side effects, a result of which will be a less safe environment.'
This is also true for the security issue, which has seen much activity: 'All the societies are working on the subject of security. There are short time-frames to get an enormous amount of work done, training in particular. In parallel we have set up a working group to look at unifying our approach on security matters.'
A further issue that IACS is closely involved in is the transparency for the provision of information. 'Transparency for the provision of information requires both a change in the contract for a shipowner and agreement from the flag states to divulge information,' he says. 'In the light of European legislation, this has accelerated so that our website can carry full information about the status of a ship. In the case of shipowners, I think that work is now fully complete. In the case of flag states, there are approximately half that have given their permission to date, but there is still time. If a flag state has not given its permission to give the information, we can't provide it. Therefore the matter of transparency is complex, but huge improvements and huge strides forward have been taken.'
Ultimately, safety costs money, and in a harsh commercial world that is often difficult to justify. 'But if safety is risk, and risk equals higher premiums, then you save your premiums if you attend to risk,' he says.
Source: IMarEST Review