The 72nd
Session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) met from 17 –
26 May 2000 in London. Opening statements by the Secretary General
William A. O’Neil again focused on the Erika casualty. There
was unanimous support by Member Countries to resist any unilateral
regulatory action until a complete and thorough investigation
report of the casualty is available. It was also agreed that proposed
revisions to regulation should be accompanied by technical evaluation
and impact assessment including any legislative burdens and implications
on industry.
France has submitted
several papers to the MSC and Marine Environment Protection Committee
on the following issues:
increased surveillance by EU Members
of ships carrying dangerous goods or oil;
mandatory reporting 24 hrs before
entry into EU ports and before entering an EU Member State’s
EEZ;
inspection of oil tankers in dry
dock by an ad hoc commission every 3 years;
monitoring uniformity of class inspections
and procedures;
mandatory flag State self-evaluation;
phasing out of all single hull ships
transporting dangerous goods and oil by 2008;
improve working conditions onboard.
In order to provide
for a means to accelerate the adoption of any proposed regulation,
O’Neil indicated that the 2001 session of MEPC could be advanced
from July to April 2001:
( + Note: All "ships" are
all self propelled vessels)
For
further information concerning the above information, please contact
ABS Regulatory Affairs Department at telephone (212) 839 5059, by
fax (212) 839 5214, or by email Regulatoryaffairs@eagle.org.
