Marine Regulations & Guides

The primary purpose of the IMSBC Code replacing the BC Code is to duly facilitate the safe stowage/securing of the solid bulk cargo giving information on the hazards that are commonly associated with the transportation of solid bulk cargoes of different types and providing relevant instructions on the established procedures.

The content of this officially released regulatory document features fully up-to-date individual scheduled developed and implemented for the certain types of cargoes, including such specific types of cargo as granulated tire rubber, chopped rubber, plastic insulation material and others; the volume covers alternative form of sulphur and provides references to the provisions of SOLAS convention.

It also contains updated information migrated to here from the IMDG Code. The materials contained in the Code is arranged in thirteen sections starting from the general provisions section followed with the one dealing with general loading of the cargo, its transportation and precautions for unloading, safety of the vessel and crew members, trimming, liquefaction of cargo and associated testing procedures, security provisions, conversion of stowage factor and other important aspects. Four appendices provide required supplementary information.

One of the most important conventions by IMO, i.e. International Maritime Organization. MARPOL Convention is devoted to the protection of the environment. The introductory general part of the Convention is outlines in the Protocols opening the document. The main provisions of the Conventions are contained in six Annexes to it.

The first Annex provides regulations for prevention of marine pollution by oil including requirements applicable to the machinery spaces and cargo areas, oil pollution incidents and reception facilities, special requirements that normally apply to the floating/fixed platforms, transfer of oil etc.

The second and third Annexes govern prevention of pollution by noxious liquid substances carried in bulk and by harmful substances carried in packaged form. The fourth and fifth Annexes deal with the sewage and garbage pollution while the last Annex solely addresses atmospheric pollution from the ships including emission control, operation and maintenance of the diesel engines, incinerators and other shipboard equipment, as well as availability and quality of the fuel oil. Each of the Annexes is arranged in standard form starting with the chapters with general information and regulations concerning survey, certification and control.

A compact booklet with the guidelines to the health and safety in marine ports released by the Health and Safety Executive. Most of the ports are challenging objects to work. People may be involved in transportation of different cargo types and working with different people when performing this tasks. It should be taken into account that some of those people may not speak English.

The work in ports does not stop, people work day and night, in any weather conditions. They often work under pressure to load and discharge the cargo quickly in order to catch a tide; sometimes speedy loading and unloading is required to get a wharf freed. The guidebook was actually released to highlight the main hazards commonly found in marine ports.

It is primarily aimed at the worker but will also be interesting and useful to the stakeholders and visiting drivers - in fact to everyone visiting docks and working there on a regular or occasional basis since the content of this small publication clearly outlines what they shall do to ensure compliance with the law requirements.

They will find, in a compact and simple form, the information about tackling the hazards, know what to do should the things go not as they were planned to, and get familiarized with the major hazards associated with the lifting operations, transportation etc.

The first book of the two-volume set addressing the explosives regulations. It is dealing with the safety provisions and provides required guidance of the applicable regulations. The content will be interesting to the people assigned any duties governed by the Explosives Regulations. The book gives good technical guidance to help such people achieve due compliance with the safety provisions of the above mentioned regulations.

The authors have identifies specialist and topic based guidance to provide enough information. The volume starts with the information about the safety requirements continued with the chapter addressing the effective fire and explosion measures including management arrangements and proper housekeeping tips, segregating explosive materials, prevention of fires/explosions, general precautions and protection of people, separation distances to be maintained to eliminate the risk of fire or explosion, procedures for the disposal, discarding and decontamination of explosive materials and other information.

Note that the document is not specifically addressing the shipboard activities and was not prepared for marine industry in mind; however, the general information provided in its pages will definitely be of some use during the shipboard and port activities. There second volume of this set is devoted to the security provisions and is also recommended.

The second volume of the set continuing to provide guidance on the Explosives Regulations. while the first book of the set was dealing with the safety provisions, this one is solely devoted to the security provisions. The book starts with some introduction followed by the chapters providing general security requirements and general security principles to be taken into consideration when performing any explosives operations.

The next two chapters are dealing with the management arrangements and regulatory framework while the following chapter is telling readers how important it is to prevent any unauthorized acquisition or access to the explosive materials. The prohibitions associated with the transportation of the explosives are also addressed together with the restrictions imposed on prohibited persons.

The rest of the document is covering such important aspects as proper identification of the explosives using the UIC, i.e. unique identification code, marking requirements, site codes and record keeping, reporting any losses, plastic explosive materials, pyrotechnics items etc. A short but comprehensive glossary of terminology concludes each book of this set providing explanation of the terms used throughout the document. A good publication recommended to anyone dealing with the explosive materials.

The officially released ILO guidelines to be used for the medical examination of the people working at sea. the document was endorsed by the ILO and IMO MSC and will provide required complementary advice to the competent authorities as well as medical personnel and stakeholders of the maritime industry on proper application of the provisions of MLC 2006 and STCW 1978 conventions.

All seafarers shall undergo periodical medical examination in order to reduce the risks to the safety of the vessel and other crew members. This is a must-do to safeguard the health and safety of the personnel. Both conventions listed above require seafarers to hold a formal certificate of medical examination - subject certificate would normally have detailed information and indicate particular fitness aspects that should be assessed.

The intention was to provide the authorities with the recognized set of specific criteria - these criteria may be used either directly or, otherwise, they may serve as a basis when developing the national standards in line with the internationally recognized requirements. The guidelines are presented in consistent manner and shall be of practical use for all parties concerned.

The present Code of Practice and guidance was prepared to provide readers with the practical advice on the compliance with the DGHAR 2016. Subject regulations contain special measures that shall be implemented in order to reduce the risks of serious incidents that commonly occur when the dangerous cargoes pass through the harbors and associated areas.

The regulations also contain a complete set of relevant safety procedures for the duty holders for safeguarding of the safe ports against the accidents that involve such goods through proper coordination of the activities between vessel and shore. This guidebook is aimed at all people engaged in relevant activities in the sea ports and harbors, docks and jetties and wharves where the dangerous goods are handled.

The guide is issued by the HSE, standing for the Health and Safety executive; note that following all guidelines contained in the book is not considered mandatory unless this has been specifically stated. Apart from the regulations themselves, the book contains appendixes providing additional guidance as well as useful references, list of dangerous goods, licensing of the explosive goods, byelaw-related provisions etc.

An excellent reference publication released by MCA containing the detailed guidance on the major issues related to the harbor authorities and supplementing the Port Marine Safety Code. Both documents refer to the existing legal documents and apply to statutory harbor authorities.

The Guide is describing legal duties and powers; the information contained will be appreciated by the people assigned port management related tasks, who will find inside a remarkably comprehensive advice about marine SMS, standing for the safety management systems, marine services and risk assessment, navigation, emergency preparedness/response, pilotage etc.

The Guide also addresses the coastal security. The authors of the volume have used all experience and expertise to offer best solutions in support of the present paper to the ports and companies that support port operations. A short glossary of terms is provided. While applicable to all marine ports, the content of this guidebook shall be applied in reasonable manner and proportionally to each of them.

It has been specifically designed to provide some general guidance and is full of live examples of how the organizations could meet their commitments related to the compliance with the requirements of the Code. Do not treat this document as the only available means of compliance.