By
Rebecca Gibson |
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Symposium on the Future of Ship Safety has recommended a full review of existing regulatory regimes, in order to meet future shipping safety challenges.
Held at the IMO’s London headquarters on 10 and 11 June, the two-day Symposium highlighted the need for a more goal-based, risk-based approach, that takes into account the burden on seafarers of any new or changing regulations.
The Symposium recommended that the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) reviews the current safety regulatory framework to ensure it can meet challenges associated with the technological advancements made since the 1974 SOLAS and International Load Lines Conventions were adopted.
It indicated a need to improve data collection processes to support monitoring and development of safety regulations and to encourage a safety culture beyond mere compliance with regulatory requirements.
“There is no doubt that more and better data, and the use of the latest methods to analyse it, is central to the development of future risk-based regulations,” said IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu. “There is also no doubt a safety culture that goes beyond mere compliance is essential for the future. Ships will become more complex and as they do, we must move away from safety being simply a series of box-ticking exercises.”
The MSC will also consider how to integrate risk-based methodologies and analysis techniques into the framework to provide a practicable basis for the development of future regulations.
“Currently, the shipping industry is facing serious financial difficulties but it needs to comply with regulations for marine environment protection,” Sekimizu said. “Discussion on the future must cover all issues relating to ensuring competent seafarers free of stress and fatigue; support for seafarers must be continuously addressed at IMO.”