Guides

The content of the present compact but very informative publication was specifically developed to provide the responses to the most important issues in the maritime shipping industry, relating to the revised regulations and guidelines of the SOLAS convention. The amendments that have been made to this regulation did have a serious impact on the established operational practices there between different parties of the supply chain engaged in the maritime transportation of cargo containers.

While the provisions of the SOLAS convention relate to the ship safety at sea, we shall recognize that the activities ashore that are related to the cargo presentation are considered essential to the safe outcome while at sea. This collection of the frequently asked questions is dealing with the newly implemented rules concerning the verification of the cargo containers' gross mass.

No container shall be loaded without duly verified mass. There are two methods, as prescribed by the rules, using which t6he shippers can get the verified gross masses of their containers. The information contained in this booklet will be of practical interest to the people involved in transportation of cargo containers by sea.

The publication was prepared by the recognized experts of the international maritime shipping industry and officially released by The Swedish Club entity. The content of the Instructions is mainly based on the provisions of the IMO STCW Convention taking Manila Amendments into account. In short, this compact but quite informative book is intended to provide all interested parties with the concise information about the duties of the shipboard personnel.

The opening section of the document concentrates on the chief engineer while the next three sections will give info about the duties of the EOOW, standing for the engineer of the watch, engine room ratings and crew. The fifth and sixth sections of the volume are dealing with the watch arrangements and relieving the watch. Finally, the closing one will tell readers about the checkpoints for the safer operations on board.

The publication will definitely be helpful to the crew members and operators of the vessels since it will assist them in ensuring compliance with the above mentioned convention which will eventually contribute to the safety of the ship operation. It will also be good when used as a training tool for those familiarizing themselves with the marine rules and regulations.

The official IMO publication. The content of the present Code builds on and incorporates all best practices in the investigation of marine casualties and incidents established in the previous release of the document. The publication is made of three major parts. The first part contains general provisions defining the purpose of the Code and shedding some light on application of the other two parts.

The second part of the book provides mandatory standards covering the investigation authority and notification, requirements to be complied with when investigating casualties of very serious character, co-operation and parallel investigations, getting the evidence from the seafarers, investigation reports, draft reports and other relevant matters.

The third part will provide readers with the recommended practices covering the principles of investigation, unlawful interference, evidence collection, confidentiality issues, administrative responsibilities, final and draft casualty investigation reports, protection provided to the witnesses and any other parties involved etc. The document also contains the Res. MSC.255(84) dealing with adoption of this Code. A needful document for any person engaged in the investigation of any marine casualty and/or incident.

The fifth annex to the MARPOL convention was ratified by American government in 1987. that same year the MPPRCA, standing for the Marine Plastic Pollution Research & Control Act was enacted. These document were intended to address the serious problem associated with the debris littering the world oceans, and one of the practices introduced at that time was restricting the throwing of the shipboard garbage overboard.

The garbage regulated by these documents includes solid wastes that are normally generated on board during normal ship operations and do not include sewage covered by the fourth annex. The present study will provide assistance to the ship owners, shop operators and crew members in getting their shipboard operations and management of the shipboard wastes in compliance with the relevant requirements of the above mentioned regulations.

It covers all aspects that shall be considered including sources and effects of the garbage generated on board ships, implementation of the hazard evolution model, shoreside garbage management, training and education matters, national strategy and many others. Note that the study will be equally interesting and practical to all vessels not limited to the ones operated in U.S. waters.

The official guidelines issued by the AMSA, standing for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Though the provisions of the present paper shall apply to the Australian vessels, the information contained in the document will be useful as a reference to any other ship. The standards related to the medical care of the seafarers are established by the MLC.

The publication starts with the general information followed by the medical carriage requirements including medicines and medical equipment. There is a separate chapter in this volume devoted to the ships engaged in transportation of the dangerous cargoes. The next chapter is dealing with the administration and storage of the medicals on board including their packaging and labeling, design and location of the shipboard medicine chest, inventory and medical log plus e-records.

You will also find all requirements applicable to the certification and inspection of the medicine chests and know the basic foreign drug regulations. The training and responsibilities have also been paid attention. Two annexes to the main content provide list of medicines and medical equipment. A must have publication on board any Australian ship and a recommended reference for all others.

This is a nice and useful training tool developed and presented by the specialists of the Excellence & Competency Training Center. As it is stated in the title of the manual, its content is fully compliant with the latest amendments to the STCW Convention. The material of the book is arranged in four major parts.

The first part covers the emergency first aid giving all required information about the human body structure, basic principles of the emergency action, wounds and shocks, burns and bandaging, rescue and transfer of the people and basic life support.

The second part concentrates on the personal survival techniques including main principles of survival and evacuation, lifesaving appliances and arrangements on board ships, emergency situations, signaling equipment, personal lifesaving appliances such as lifejackets, lifebuoys and immersion suits etc.

The next part deals with the fire fighting and takes reader from the basic fire theory and fire tetrahedron, classification of fires, spread of fire and safe practices, fire prevention, detection and extinction. The last part addresses personal safety and social responsibilities including safe working practice, human relationships and communication onboard ships. transmission skills, SARS etc.

The present manual will give readers very useful and practical tips helping them to prevent dangerous oil spills. The authors of the guidebook encourage the crew members of all vessels operating in the area covered, i.e. Washington waters, to use the content for developing their bunkering policies and perform internal training. Establishing and using responsible and effective procedures for the transfer of oil will eventually reduces the number of the oil spill incidents and greatly contribute in the environment protection.

All of the practices that have been highlighted in the pages of this volume are meant to create a sort of the oil spill prevention mindset during the bunkering activities. Note that they are not intended to substitute the procedures on board the vessel or replace any of the federal requirements of the USCG. We all know that the fatigue and lack of attention couples with the poor communication and unclear procedures and policies are considered root causes of the oil spills.

The readers will start with the information on the oil spill reporting and then proceed to the bunker procedure checklist, duties of the watchstanders and personnel, training required to be performed for the bunker crew, operations during and after bunkering etc. This compact publication will shed some light on the important aspects of bunkering in the Washington waters; however the content will be equally useful to the crew members of the ships operating elsewhere.

The publication released by the Spanish Shipowners Association will provide required guidance to the PSC inspection in connection with the provisions of the BWM Convention. This is just a compact booklet but it still provides concentrated information about the most important aspects to consider.

The opening page of the paper will explain to which of the vessels the Convention is not applicable - obviously, these are vessels without the ballast tanks or having those tanks sealed. The companies having such ships in their fleet shall provide the captains with the instructions so that they ensure that, when asked for the PSC inspection certificate, they will claim that their vessel is not designed to carry the ballast water and is therefore not bound; they shall also preset the stability booklet proving this statement.

Then the content of the booklet covers the national cabotage and what shall be taken into consideration in cabotage trades, certification paperwork and additional documents, preparing to the PSC initial inspection etc. In addition, the booklet contains useful check list to e used for ensuring due compliance with D-1 standard and list of detainable deficiencies.