On 24 October 1915, just three years after the Titanic sunk after hitting an iceberg, Ernest Shackleton found himself trapped in an Antarctic ice flow and gave the order to abandon his ship the Endurance. His men escaped the ship’s ice-locked hull but the lifeboats, unable to maneuver in ice, were practically useless leaving the men hungry and cold until their ice flow broke apart more than five months later.

From that day until 2007 no significant advances have been made to arctic lifeboat designs and modern engines and marine electronics are nearly useless to a boat trapped in ice. It was then that ARKTOS, a lifeboat manufacturer based in the chilling cold of Surrey, Canada, first came up with a great idea…. take a lifeboat and turn it into a tank!

The original concept for their invention, dubbed the ARKTOS Amphibious Evacuation Craft, was to develop a lifeboat capable of evacuating over 50 people in temperatures below -100°F. In addition, the craft is able to navigate balmier climates, pushing through mixed water/ice conditions, ice-rubble fields, shear-zone ice and high winds on any ice surface.

Videos – The ARKTOS In Action

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

With its familiar international orange paint sceme, evacuation is still the primary role for ARKTOS boats, however, their duties have been extended to include firefighting, geophysical survey work, and exploration in any corner of the world regardless of the climate or the terrain. And, according to the company’s new designs, amphibious ARKTOS Tugs to tow oilfield Hover Barges to the North Slope are “on the drawing board.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Image Source: HSE.gov.uk

Below is a brief summary of just a few of the items on the agenda.  You can find the full review on the IMO website HERE.

Piracy and armed robbery against ships

The meeting approved MSC Circulars on Interim Guidance to shipowners, ship operators, and shipmasters on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships when transiting the High Risk Area, and Interim recommendations for flag States on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships when transiting the High Risk Area. These interim Circulars provide considerations on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel if and when a flag State determines that such a measure would be appropriate and lawful. They are not intended to endorse or institutionalize their use and do not represent any change of policy by the Organization in this regard.

The MSC also approved Guidelines to assist in the investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships, and adopted a resolution on the Implementation of Best Management Practice Guidance.  (See Briefing 27/2011 )

Adoption of SOLAS amendments – lifeboat release mechanisms

The MSC adopted a new paragraph 5 of SOLAS regulation III/1 to require lifeboat on-load release mechanisms not complying with new International Life-Saving Appliances (LSA) Code requirements to be replaced no later than the first scheduled dry-docking of the ship after 1 July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1 July 2019.

The SOLAS amendment, which is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2013, is intended to establish new, stricter, safety standards for lifeboat release and retrieval systems, aimed at preventing accidents during lifeboat launching, and will require the assessment and possible replacement of a large number of lifeboat release hooks.

The Committee also adopted Guidelines for evaluation of and replacement of lifeboat release and retrieval systems and related amendments to the LSA Code and associated amendments to the Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution MSC.81(70)).

Member governments were encouraged to initiate, at the earliest opportunity, approval processes for new on-load release and retrieval systems that comply with the amendments to the LSA Code.

Continue reading for:

• Implementation of the Torremolinos fishing vessel safety Protocol
• Future work to implement goal-based standards considered
• LRIT status updated
• Implementation of mandatory IMO audit scheme.

Piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean will be high on the agenda when IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meets at the Organization’s London Headquarters for its 89th session from 11 to 20 May 2011.

The busy agenda also includes adoption of amendments, concerning lifeboat release hooks, to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and work related to the implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol on fishing vessel safety, as well as goal-based standards for vessel construction and the long-range identification and tracking of ships. The MSC will also consider the approval of a number of draft resolutions for submission to the IMO Assembly, to be held in late 2011.

Piracy and armed robbery against ships

The MSC is expected to discuss the development of guidance on the employment of private, armed security service providers on board ships; measures to improve compliance with the Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea area; and proposed guidelines to assist in the collection of evidence after a hijack.

The number of acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to the Organization and which occurred in 2010 was 489, against 406 during the previous year, representing an increase of 20.4% from the figure for 2009. The areas most affected (i.e. five incidents reported or more) in 2010 were East Africa and the Indian Ocean followed by the Far East and, in particular, the South China Sea, West Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

During the year, it was reported that two crew members were killed and 30 crew members were reportedly injured/assaulted, while 1,027 crew members were reportedly taken hostage or kidnapped. Fifty-seven vessels were reportedly hijacked, with one vessel reportedly still unaccounted for.

Adoption of SOLAS amendments – lifeboat release mechanisms

The MSC will be invited to consider, for adoption, a proposed new paragraph 5 of SOLAS regulation III/1 which would require lifeboat on-load release mechanisms not complying with new International Life-Saving Appliances (LSA) Code requirements, to be replaced no later than the first scheduled dry-docking of the ship after 1 July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1 July 2019.
The SOLAS amendment is intended to establish new, stricter, safety standards for lifeboat release and retrieval systems, aimed at preventing accidents during lifeboat launching, and will require the assessment and possible replacement of a large number of lifeboats release hooks.

The Committee will also be invited to adopt draft Guidelines for evaluation of and replacement of lifeboat release and retrieval systems and related amendments to the LSA Code which, along with the proposed draft SOLAS amendment, had been referred back to an intersessional working group which reported to the 55th session of the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment (DE) held in March. The MSC will also consider associated amendments to the Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution MSC.81(70)).

Implementation of the Torremolinos fishing vessel safety Protocol

The MSC will consider two options aimed at achieving the entry into force of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol on fishing vessel safety, which were agreed by the Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels’ Safety (SLF), when it met for its 53rd session in January. The Committee will also consider draft amendments to update the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, developed by SLF.

The SLF Sub-Committee noted a clear indication from delegations to recommend that the preferred option would be for the adoption of the proposed draft Agreement on the implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, which would include amendments to certain requirements of the Protocol. Following this, countries could consider implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol under the terms and conditions contained in the Agreement (countries should give effect to the provisions of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol under the terms of the Agreement, when they deposit an instrument of ratification). The Agreement would be a new legally binding instrument, offering a firm foundation to implement the amended Torremolinos Protocol.

The second option for achieving entry into force of the Protocol would be an Assembly resolution on the implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, under which Parties would be able to implement the necessary amendments immediately after the entry into force of the current Torremolinos Protocol, even before the formal adoption of the amendments.

Following the decision of the MSC 89, the final instrument(s) could be adopted at the Assembly, in late 2011, or by a diplomatic conference.

Future work to implement goal-based standards to be considered

The MSC will monitor the progress made with the implementation of the International Goal-based Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers, which were adopted at its 87th session, along with the associated amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-1 making their application mandatory, as well as verification guidelines and the ship construction file. The Committee will also discuss its future work in the matter, including the completion of generic guidelines for developing goal-based standards.

LRIT status to be updated

The MSC will be updated on developments in relation to the establishment and testing of LRIT Data Centres (DCs) and the operation of the LRIT system since its last session, including the results of the first modification testing phase and the operation of an Information Distribution Facility (IDF) for the provision of flag State LRIT information to security forces operating in waters off the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean. The MSC will also consider the transfer of operations of the International LRIT Data Exchange (IDE) from the temporary facility in the United States to the permanent facility at the European Maritime Safety Agency in Portugal. Also under consideration will be the performance review and audit reports of the IDE and DCs submitted by the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO), as the LRIT coordinator, together with its findings and recommendations; and issues concerning the long-term operational and financial viability of the LRIT system.

STCW Convention: independent evaluations to be considered

The list of Parties deemed to be giving full and complete effect to the provisions of the STCW Convention, as amended, is expected to be updated when the Secretary-General submits his report on those countries whose independent evaluations have been completed since the previous MSC meeting.

Implementation of mandatory IMO audit scheme

Following significant progress made by the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI) towards making the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme mandatory, the MSC will be invited to consider approving the proposed draft IMO Instruments Implementation Code (IIIC), which would be the proposed new title for the mandatory version of the current Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO instruments. The draft code will also be forwarded for consideration and approval by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), and then to the Assembly, for adoption at an appropriate future session.

Development of the draft Code for Recognized Organizations (ROs)

The MSC will be invited to provide further guidance to the FSI Sub-Committee on the development of the proposed new Code for Recognized Organizations (ROs), which would provide a consolidated instrument containing criteria against which recognized organizations (which may be authorized by flag States to carry out surveys and issue certificates on their behalf) are assessed and authorized/recognized, and give guidance for subsequent monitoring of ROs by Administrations.

Draft Assembly resolutions

The MSC will also be invited to approve, for submission to the IMO Assembly in November 2011:

• the draft Revised Recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships;
• the new draft International Code on Enhanced Programme of Inspections during Surveys of Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers, 2011 (2011 ESP Code);
• the draft Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes, 2011 (2011 TDC Code), revising and updating the original code adopted in 1973;
• the draft Revised procedures for Port State Control;
• the draft revised Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification, 2011, which include references to relevant amendments to statutory instruments entering into force up to and including 31 December 2011; and
• the draft revised and updated (non-mandatory) Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO instruments, to include the requirements deriving from amendments to relevant IMO mandatory instruments that will enter into force up to and including 1 July 2012.

Other issues

In connection with other issues arising from the reports of IMO Sub-Committees and other bodies, the MSC will be invited to:

• Adopt draft amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC), to revise individual schedules for a number of cargoes;
• Adopt draft amendments to Part B of the International Code on Intact Stability, 2008 (2008 IS Code) relating to application of the 2009 MODU Code for Mobile offshore drilling units (MODU Code);
• Approve draft Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen as an inerting medium; and
• Approve draft amendments to update the IMO/International Labour Organization (ILO)/ United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Guidelines for packing of cargo transport units (CTUs), to be forwarded to ILO and the UNECE for concurrent endorsement.

More information on the 89th Session of IMO’s Maritime Safety Meeting can be found HERE.

Leading lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding says IMO and some parts of the shipping industry need to move more quickly to a consensus on vital lifeboat safety issues which have important consequences for the safety of seafarers.

David Bradley, vice president operations, Schat-Harding Service says, “Good things are worth waiting for. But there is such a thing as waiting too long. The IMO debate over lifeboat hooks has gone on for too long. Seafarers deserve better. They deserve clear standards for lifeboat hooks and a clear timetable for replacing those which don’t meet the new standards. That will ensure their safety and renew their confidence in their boats. A lack of agreement at IMO by some industry bodies and flag states has pushed back consensus on this vital topic, and it could be two years or more before we have a properly agreed amendment to SOLAS for lifeboat hooks.”

According to Bradley there is a broad consensus that the current standards set by IMO for on-load release hooks have failed seafarers. “It is time for a new generation of hooks, and the fact is that hooks are available which meet all the proposed regulatory requirements,” says Bradley. “But shipyards won’t specify them and owners will not rush to replace existing hooks while they still meet regulations, despite the well-known risks to seafarers. Draft guidelines to ensure that on-load release mechanisms for lifeboats are replaced by those complying with new, stricter safety standards under SOLAS were discussed in February 2010 by the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment (DE 53). But no agreement was reached. Similarly, no consensus was achieved at the 87th session of the Maritime Safety Committee in May 2010. There are good draft standards on the table but no consensus to turn them into regulations and the issue has again been referred back for further work to the IMO subcommittee on ship design and equipment. This will take place in March this year, and the findings taken in May 2011 to the 89th session of the MSC. That is unlikely to be the end of the story unless we see a move towards consensus by all parties. We hope that following the MSC 89 meeting in May we will have guidelines in place which will provide some clarity and consistency going forward. And we hope that the date now set as a target for introducing new SOLAS standards, 1st July, 2014, can be brought forward in the interests of safety.”

Schat-Harding’s new range of SeaCure on-load release hooks are the safest product of their kind on the market and are fully compliant with all proposed revisions to SOLAS. But too many seafarers will be denied the safer hook until agreement is reached at IMO.

“Safety-conscious owners are re-hooking their boats now and getting ahead of the game, and so are cost-conscious owners who do not want to be caught in a regulation-driven rush to rehook,” says Bradley “Shipowners have already turned to Schat-Harding to retrofit over 130 new hook sets in the last six months. Whatever the delays at IMO, Schat-Harding is there alongside owners and seafarers, helping them to meet and exceed industry safety standards at all times. But we are just one manufacturer and the shipping industry as a whole needs a consensus to put seafarers’ safety first and get new standards in place.”

Photo: Schat-Harding service engineer servicing a hook on board, courtesy Schat-Harding

Divers searched the water for the 29-year-old man who fell overboard the Volendam, the Holland-American line cruise ship, and eventually recovered the man’s body. The other crew member managed to use a bucket to stay afloat and was quickly rescued.

Both men were wearing heavy clothing, overalls and boots but no lifejackets, he said. “It appears that one of the cables let go at one end and the lifeboat is dangling there by one cable at the moment,” said St John spokesman Ian Henderson. The incident occurred during a lifeboat drill at about 2.30pm on Saturday. No additional information about the cause of the lifeboat failure is available at this time.

Quick, Bob Couttie from Maritime Accident Casebook needs our help!

MAC is carrying out a series of surveys among various industry stakeholders with regard to lifeboat safety. It is the first industry-wide survey of its kind. It will make a positive contribution to lifeboat safety and we hope you want to be a part of it.

The objective is to take a snapshot of a number of slices of the industry, from seafarers to shipowners and LSA manufacturers and providers and gather data which may improve lifeboat safety.

The experience and opinions of seafarers and offshore workers is especially important to this project.

We encourage all those qualified to take the appropriate survey.  Below are links for current and former seafarers and offshore workers.  To obtain surveys for shipowners, operators, or managers, P&I/insurance, or investigators, CLICK HERE.

SURVEY LINKS:

• Lifeboat Safety Survey – Seafarers/Offshore Workers
• Word version for seafarers
• PDF version for seafarers

Here at gCaptain.com, we are big proponents of safety in the workplace and often times for us professional mariners, that means reporting on technologies that are going to keep us alive should any of us hit the water.  We are always on the lookout for new and interesting items like PLB’s, man overboard alert devices, fast rescue or lifeboats and, of course, life jackets.

That is why we were very excited to hear about the Innovations in Life Jacket Design Competition hosted by the Boat U.S. Foundation.  The goal of the competition is to “encourage and solicit innovative ideas and new technology to design a life jacket that the majority of average boaters might wear.”  The Boat U.S. website tells us:

Each year drownings account for 70% or more of all boating fatalities. Of the people who drown, over 80% were not wearing a life jacket. The U.S. Coast Guard has estimated that over 200 lives may be saved each year if people wore their life jacket.

Studies conducted by the BoatUS Foundation indicate that lack of comfort is the number one reason why life jackets are not worn in greater numbers. In fact, the average life jacket wear rate for boaters is generally around 20%.

The BoatUS Foundation believes that innovation and the application of new technology might entice more boaters to wear life jackets. If you are a creative thinker and have an idea for a new and innovative life jacket your ingenuity may help save lives. We don’t have any rules as to what types of materials or designs are allowable. The Foundation wants you to come up with as many new, imaginative and out-of-the-box ideas as you can.

Participants will be required to submit a 4-minute video of their invention in action and entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges based on wearability, reliability, cost or price point and innovation.  Winners of the competition will get to take home the $5,000 grand prize which will be awarded at the 2011 International Boating and Waterways Safety Summit.

For more information about the contest visit http://www.boatus.com/Foundation/lifejacketdesign/.

Two died and two others were seriously injured when a twin-fall lifeboat from the Diamond Offshore-owned, OGX-leased rig was being recovered from the sea after training and maintenance operations. A Triple 5 hook from the lifeboat is being examined by the manufacturer, Survival Systems International.

The Triple 5 hook is based on an early design by the same company with a record of 25 years without an accident. It is designed to fail-to-safe under load.

The report, expected in Q3 2010 is expected to address the issue of lifeboat recovery with crew aboard, which frequently results in deaths and injuries when safety-critical hoisting equipment fails.

Another Two Lifeboat Deaths

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The Case Of The Killer Catch

The Case Of The Fallen Saviour

The Case of the Fall From Grace

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Schatt-Harding – “hooks made of wrong steel”

Lifeboat D-Ring Alert

NEPIA Highlights Lifeboat Safety

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Lifeboats – The Pinto Of The Sea

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Lifeboats – Who gives a f*** ?

Your Lifeboat Experiences

Yesterday, the Tokyo MOU released its Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region for 2009, summarizing the results of inspections carried out by member Authorities.  For this years report , the Tokyo MOU carried out a concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) focusing on whether lifeboats and associated launching arrangements are well maintained and whether the crew are aware of the maintenance requirements and of possible dangers in launching and recovering lifeboats.

Of the a total 23,116 PSC inspections conducted in 2009, involving 13,298 individual ships registered under 102 flags, it was found that lifeboats (lifesaving appliances) was the most frequent detainable deficiency for the year with 174 total detentions.  

The report overview summarized the CIC findings:

During the 3-month (September – November) campaign period, the Tokyo MOU member Authorities carried out 4,834 CIC inspections.  Based on the preliminary analysis, 18.2% of inspections revealed CIC-related deficiencies.  A total of 1,764 CIC-related deficiencies were recorded.  The campaign revealed almost 12% of the drills, when conducted, were not performed satisfactorily, which often proved a result of inadequate training.  Furthermore, the procedures or instructions and identification of hazards associated with launching and recovery of lifeboats were found unsatisfactory on 14.8% of vessels inspected.  These are related to the safety management system on board the ship.  Of a total number of 332 ships detained during the CIC period, 123 or 37% were due to serious deficiencies on the lifeboat launching appliances and arrangements.  This represents a detention rate for the CIC of 2.54%, while the overall detention rate during the same period is 5.35%. 

In addition to faulty lifeboats, maintenance of the ship and equipment, fire-dampers, emergency fire pump and oil filtering equipment deficiencies also topped the detention list. 

For a full copy of the 2009 annual report, CLICK HERE or visit http://www.tokyo-mou.org/