Lesson 2. Main Conventions of the IMO

MAIN CONVENTIONS OF THE IMO

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime safety treaty. It ensures that ships flagged by signatory States comply with minimum safety standards in construction, equipment and operation. The SOLAS Convention is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.

A conference convened by the IMO in 1960 adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to replace an earlier (1948) instrument. The convention covered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping, including subdivision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection, and extinction; lifesaving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships. A new convention, incorporating amendments to the 1960 agreement, was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980. The SOLAS convention was updated with the SOLAS Protocol of 1978, which entered into force in 1981, and with the SOLAS Protocol of 1988, which entered into force in February 2000. In December 2002, amendments were adopted related to maritime security, which were scheduled to enter into force in July 2004.

In 1966, an IMO conference adopted the International Convention on Load Lines (LL), which sets limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded, an important consideration in its safety. The convention was updated by the LL Protocol of 1988, which entered into force in February 2000. 

Two conventions were adopted in 1972, following IMO conferences: the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, which concerns traffic separation schemes; and the Convention for Safe Containers, which provides uniform international regulations for maintaining a high level of safety in the carriage of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements.

The International Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization, adopted in 1976, concerns the use of space satellites for improved communication, enabling distress messages to be conveyed much more effectively than by conventional radio.

Three additional conventions concern safety at sea: the 1977 Torremolinos Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, which applies to new fishing vessels of 24 m (79 ft) in length or longer; the 1978 Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watch-keeping for Seafarers, which aims to establish internationally acceptable minimum standards for crews; and the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, which is designed to improve existing arrangements for carrying out search and rescue operations following accidents at sea.

In September 1994, a roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) automobile ferry the Estonia capsized and quickly sank, killing over 900 people. Following the disaster, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee made major changes to the safety standards of ro-ro passenger ships, including amendments to the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

The 1954 Oil Pollution Convention was the first major attempt by the maritime nations to curb the impact of oil pollution. It was the wreck of the oil tanker Torrey Canyon in March 1967 that fully alerted the world to the great dangers that the transport of oil posed to the marine environment. In 1969, two new conventions were adopted: the Convention on Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, which gives states the right to intervene in incidents on the high seas that are likely to result in oil pollution; and the Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, which is intended to ensure that adequate compensation is available to victims and which places the liability for the damage on the shipowner.

The continuing boom in the transportation of oil showed that more work needed to be done on the technical side. The problem of oil pollution – not only as a result of accidents but also through normal tanker operations, especially the cleaning of cargo tanks – was so great in some areas that there was serious concern for the marine environment.

In 1973, a major conference was convened by the IMO to discuss the whole problem of marine pollution from ships. The result of the conference was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, which deals not only with oil but also with other sources of pollution, including garbage, sewage, and chemicals. The convention greatly reduces the amount of oil that can be discharged into the sea by ships and bans such discharges completely in certain areas, such as the Black Sea and the Red Sea. It gives support for such operational procedures as "load on top," which greatly reduces the amount of mixtures to be disposed of after tank cleaning, and for segregated ballast tanks.

In 1990 IMO adopted the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC). The convention provides a global framework for international cooperation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollutions. The convention also calls for the establishment of stockpiles of oil spill-combating equipment, the holding of oil spill-combating exercises, and the development of detailed plans for dealing with pollution incidents. 

I. Make a written translation of the following sentences.

1. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime safety treaty. It ensures that ships comply with minimum safety standards in construction, equipment and operation.

2. The convention coveres a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping, including subdivision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection, and extinction; lifesaving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships.

3. The International Convention on Load Lines (LL), which sets limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded, an important consideration in its safety.

4. The Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watch-keeping for Seafarers aims to establish internationally acceptable minimum standards for crews.

5. The International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue is designed to improve existing arrangements for carrying out search and rescue operations following accidents at sea.

6. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships deals not only with oil but also with other sources of pollution, including garbage, sewage, and chemicals.

7. The convention greatly reduces the amount of oil that can be discharged into the sea by ships and bans such discharges completely in certain areas, such as the Black Sea and the Red Sea.

8. It gives support for such operational procedures as "load on top," which greatly reduces the amount of mixtures to be disposed of after tank cleaning, and for segregated ballast tanks.