Marine Regulations & Guides

This publication contains the officially released text of the International Convention on Wreck Removal adopted back in 2007. The convention was developed with the intention of the parties to provide the legal basis enabling them either to remove or to have removed from their coastal waters and coast lines the wrecks that normally pose a real hazard to the maritime shipping safety as well as to the marine environment.

In order to achieve the declared objectives, this new treaty was presented including the provisions relating to the reporting of vessels and wrecks together with their removal and the criteria for determination of the associated hazards. The measures that shall be undertaken to facilitate the wreck removal and owner liability for the costs for locating and marking of vessels and wrecks plus their subsequent removal are also regulated within this publication.

The registered owners of the vessels are required to maintain the mandatory insurance and/or any financial security covering the liability within the frame of the present Convention. The content of the publication shall be read and clearly understood by anyone who is involved in today’s shipping industry.

This publication contains the guidelines prepared and released by one of the most authoritative organizations in the world of marine shipping. As the title of the volume implies, it will provide the information relating to the ship-to-shore access. The material is arranged in two major parts. The first part of the document provides the guidelines themselves and is, in turn, divided into three sections.

The first section focuses on the gangways and accommodation ladders of the vessels, while the second section addresses the terminals with the particular attention paid to the ladders as well as custom-built equipment. The last section is devoted to the mutual support. The second half of the publication provides the management information and covers the role played by the senior management; it also gives the summary of the material contained in the book.

Five appendixes provide additional information, such as the excerpts from the international conventions and statutory instruments, technical specifications of the ladders made of aluminum, list of states that have already ratified the ILO conventions, general arrangement of the gangways and examples of the special types of ladders.

A very useful publication released by the OCIMF organization to aid all people engaged in the offshore operations in the colder regions of the world. The main declared purpose of the present document is to give charterers and operators of the OSVs, standing for the offshore support vessels, all required guidance to be applied when working in the severe sub-zero temperatures or ice conditions.

The paper contains the valuable technical recommendations embracing all ship types and services involved. In general, the content of the paper addresses all OSVs; however, the section 4.3 of the book will provide recommendations for the specific ship types. The conditions addressed in the pages of this document impacting the offshore operations in many parts of the world and make seamen face special risks requiring special considerations.

In some cases these areas are very remote and this presents additional difficulties; in some cases the special ice management provided by the third party shall take place. Among the topics that are covered by the authors there are ice information, winterization, major operational aspects, protection of the environment, damage control and others…

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.