Guides

This paper has been worked out and officially issued by WHO, standing for the "World Health Organization" in Geneve, Switzerland in 2011. In consists of list of acronyms and abbreviations, introduction and eight main chapters, that are followed by Annex and Glossary.

The first part - Introduction - is the opening one and it will provide the readers with some quite valuable general information concerning the structure of the present document, harmonization with International Health Regulations, ILO and IMO, describes roles and responsibilities of master, designer, constructor and other members of the marine industry.

The major chapters of the main body of this document address water, food, recreational water environments, ballast water and waste management/disposal, vector as well as reservoir control, plus controlling infectious diseases in the environment. The Annex at the end on the Guide contains various examples of hazards, monitoring procedures, control measures and corrective actions for the water supply system of the ship.

The Glossary is provided for easy reference and familiarization with the technical terminology that has been used throughout the paper. A definitely useful and very practical publication to be possessed on board for those willing to get their vessel duly maintained and in full accordance with all relevant regulations.​

The present publication has been worked out by the team of professionals and released by Lloyd's Register of Shipping, one of the world's leading classification societies with their ultimate declared purpose to provide all participants of today's shipping industry together with all interested readers in general with a brief overview of the amendments already made or proposed to be made to the existing statutory instruments and regulations, which are considered mandatory under international conventions and codes.

It starts with four tables providing the data about the mandatory regulatory amendments that have already been adopted and are now entering into force, and likely regulatory amendments that are still in the phase of development and discussion and may be subject to further change prior to their adoption - and these tables cover both new and existing vessels. The text part of the document is divided in two major parts. The first part of the volume is dealing with the future IMO legislation that has already been adopted, while the second part of it has been mainly dedicated to the requirements of IMO currently being developed. A needful document for those who are really willing to be up-to-date with the very latest and proposed marine regulations thus recommended for familiarization.

Here is the second updated edition of the guidelines which was released with the intention to assist interested persons with proper application of all provisions outlined in the ILO Convention issued by the ISF organization, standing for the International Shipping Federation. The initial release of the present publication was issued years ago, shortly after the MLC Convention was adopted, and it was actually aimed to introduce all ship operators to their obligations under the newly established regime.

The huge amount of work has been carried out by the several working groups consisting of the professional unions of the seafarers, governmental authorities, national associations of the ship owners - all to ensure that all parties involved are fully understanding their responsibilities. The current second release of the guidebook has therefore been quite significantly updated in order to reflect all latest clarifications from the ILO Convention. The authors have also added some supplementary guidance to the main content of the book to assist the maritime employers with the application of the ILO standards in the efficient and practical manner.

The authors of the volume strongly hope that it will be found very useful and practical by the workers of the shipping companies preparing for the MLC  implementation by the contracting governments...

This release of the document was officially published by IMO Publishing this year and is actually the latest available. For more convenient and easy use, all IMO publications covered within this volume have been categorized and put in different chapters, addressing maritime safety, basic IMO documents and resolutions, cargoes, legal matters, facilitation of travel and transport, prevention of marine pollution from ships, navigation and rescue, marine technology, IMO model courses, e-reader files and electronic books.

The present volume will be of use for persons involved in purchasing of the IMO issued publications. The very last section of the booklet is fully dedicated to the newly developed and implemented IMO Bookshelf software. This application enables it's users to view all electronic purchased publications in a single place and it also allows for easy search through all of them simultaneously.

Among the key features of this app are the availability of the installation without the access to the internet, multiple search facilities, the new option allowing to add your own annotations and bookmarks, resizing the text, printing etc. Definitely useful volume which must be possessed on board vessels and in the offices of the companies. 

The Annex V to MARPOL Convention entered into force on 31 December 1977. But, some of the recently conducted surveys revealed the facts that some garbage is still disposed of to the sea from the ships. And plastic garbage accounts for the largest single item found. Then, IMO revised this Annex and it's revised edition entered into force on 1 January 2013.

The present Guidance Notes were officially released by Lloyd's Register of Shipping with the intention to make the requirements of the subject Annex earlier to understand and, consequently, to comply with. It is obvious today that the garbage thrown from the vessels can be deadly to marine life in the same was as oil or chemicals. The maximum danger comes from plastic stuff since plastic can float for years and get swallowed by fish or marine mammals mistaking it for food; in addition to that, fish can easily become trapped in plastic bags, nets and ropes. And, while some of the garbage comes from the people on land, significant part of it comes from vessels.

Of course, many items will be degraded by the sea water; however, this is a very time consuming process - it can take months or even years, and, again, plastic is the worst one - it would take about 450 years to get it degraded by sea...

The content of this compact yet quite comprehensive and of course very practical publication was specifically designed to provide seamen with the check sheet to be used when preparing their vessels for the forthcoming PSC inspections and reduce the risk of the associated detention. Thousands of the crew members and passengers were either killed or missed from the lost vessels.

Moreover, the number of the fatalities and accidents occurring at the time of the routing lifeboat drills and inspections is constantly rising. That's why it is essential that the crew members of the vessels receive appropriate training in the field of the inspection, maintenance and operation of the equipment and that subject equipment is operationally ready at any time. The specialists of the UK P&I Club have performed a thorough analysis of the available data related to the LSA, including the deficiencies that have been found by the PSC officers.

Their efforts have eventually resulted in this practical re-usable check sheet highlighting the most frequently found deficiencies and listing them in several convenient sections. Subject officers usually commence their surveys from the Master's office. It is therefore critically important that all certification paperwork is updated and valid, including all relevant records and other mandatory documents. The Master shall notify the port authorities about any broken/missing equipment prior to entering the port...

The present formal release prepared by the Marine Division of IMCA is mainly intended to provide required technical guidance detailing a working framework of competence assurance as well as the assessment for the personnel who are considered critical for safety and working for all organizations that are forming the IMCA.

It has been prepared by the IMCA specialists on the basis of the numerous activity reports as well as relevant recommendations officially provided by several working groups. The publication is covering a truly wide range of positions within the marine, offshore and underwater engineering industries involved in serving the oil & gas exploration and production sector.

The authors of the volume are planning to further expand the content of the present guidance to a wider range of competencies. This nice volume aims to clearly specify the minimum applicable standards as well as qualifications plus the minimum professional experience to ensure the personnel competency, and the assurance framework that shows how exactly the proficiency should be developed and demonstrated.

The publication shall definitely be treated as an excellent reference paper that details the technical procedures, applicable criteria and recording system that should be implemented and further applied for proper assessing the competence of the "safety-critical" personnel.​

The present formal paper prepared by the IMCA specialists and officially released by this organization has been primarily intended to assist all personnel involved in the offshore diving activities, contractor and client reps, owners of the vessels and crew members who are directly involved in the diving operations, OIMs (offshore installation managers) and rig managers employing divers, client representatives who are usually involved in the preparation of contracts and other documentation associated with the forthcoming diving operations, and in fact all other personnel involved in quality assurance and safety in any way.

The present IMCA Code is offering the examples of god working practice and provides all interested parties with necessary advice on different ways in which the offshore diving activities can be done safely and effectively. It has to be noted that the provisions of the present Code have no any legal status; however, so many courts would definitely take into consideration a fact that a company providing the offshore diving services, was carrying out the associated works using the safe and officially accepted working practices. Apart from the intro, the publication provides the explanation of the terms, duties and responsibilities, info on the equipment, personnel, medical matters, work planning, emergency and contingency plans, and documentation.