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IMO Press Briefing 37 2001
7 December 2001
Maritime Safety Committee – first Extraordinary Session, 27 and 28 November 2001
STCW List of Confirmed Parties expanded
The List of countries assessed to be properly implementing the revised STCW Convention (STCW 95) has been updated by IMO.
The First Extraordinary Session of the Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), meeting on 27 and 28 November, received reports from IMO Secretary-General William O’Neil confirming that a further eight Member States had communicated information demonstrating that they were giving "full and complete effect" to the relevant provisions of the Convention. The List of Confirmed Parties now comprises 102 States and one IMO Associate Member.
A position on the List entitles other Parties to the STCW Convention to accept, in principle, that certificates issued by or on behalf of the Parties on the List are in compliance with the revised STCW (the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) as amended in 1995. The 1995 amendments entered into force on 1 February 1997. The amended Convention sets out clearly defined minimum competency requirements for all seafarers and takes into account developments in technology since the original 1978 Convention was adopted.
The new List of Confirmed Parties is contained in an MSC Circular which notes that, as the process of communicating and evaluating information is continuing, further Parties may be added to the list at annex at its subsequent meetings. For most countries, preparation of the submissions to the Secretary-General represents a demanding and challenging task requiring not only reporting on national laws, training requirements, standards and systems in place, but also ensuring that all of those elements met the revised Convention requirements and could pass the scrutiny of persons with detailed knowledge of those requirements.
A flag State Party that is on the List may, as a matter of policy, elect not to accept seafarers with certificates issued by non-List countries for service on its ships. If it does accept such seafarers, they will be required by 1 February 2002 also to have an endorsement, issued by the flag State, to show that their certificate is recognized by the flag State. By 1 February 2002, masters and officers should hold STCW 95 certificates or endorsements issued by the flag State. Certificates issued and endorsed under the provisions of the 1978 STCW Convention will be valid until their expiry date.
The MSC at its last session (MSC 74 from 30 May – 8 June 2001) agreed to hold an extraordinary session during the IMO’s 22nd regular session of its Assembly, specifically to consider reports by the Secretary-General on evaluations of information communicated which may have been completed in the period between MSC 74 and the Assembly. This was considered particularly important in view of the final implementation date of 1 February 2002 for the 1995 amendments to the STCW Convention.
The full List of Parties assessed to be properly implementing the revised STCW Convention is attached.
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IMO - the International Maritime Organization - is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Web site: www.imo.org
For further information please contact:
Lee Adamson, Public Information Manager on 0207 587 3153 (ladamson@imo.org) or
Natasha Brown, Information Officer on 0207 587 3274 (nbrown@imo.org).
Parties included on the List of Confirmed Parties at 28 November 2001
Algeria
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Peoples’
Republic of Korea
Denmark*
Dominica
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Islamic Republic of Iran
Italy
Israel
Jamaica
Japan
Kiribati
Latvia
Liberia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
México
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Morocco
Myanmar
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Romania
Russian Federation
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Senegal
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Tuvalu
Ukraine
United Kingdom**
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Yugoslavia
China (Hong Kong SAR)***
* Includes: Faeroe Islands
** Includes: Isle of Man
Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar
*** Associate Member
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