RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety
and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships,
DEPLORING the tragic loss in recent years of ro-ro passenger
ferries which capsized with heavy loss of life,
NOTING that the Maritime Safety Committee decided, at its
sixty-fourth session, to establish a Panel of Experts to carry out
a thorough review of the safety of ro-ro passenger ships on a priority
basis,
RECOGNIZING the important role the human element can play
in the prevention of accidents to ro-ro passenger ships, and that
the safety of navigation of such ships will be greatly enhanced by
supporting navigational guidance and information schemes,
RECOGNIZING ALSO that a major improvement in the safety
of ferry traffic will be achieved when not only masters, officers,
ratings and other personnel on board but also those working in shipping
companies, shipyards and ports observe the pertinent technical requirements,
both constructional and operational,
RECOGNIZING FURTHER that improvement in the safety of ferry
traffic will be achieved when their operators, together with relevant
authorities and organizations, support such ships by navigational
guidance and information so that their masters are in a position to
conduct their passage in a safe manner,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Sub-Committee
on Safety of Navigation at its forty-first session:
1. ADOPTS the Recommendation for Navigational
Guidance and Information Scheme for Ro-Ro Ferry Operations set out
in the Annex to the present resolution;
2. RECOMMENDS that Governments should encourage
ferry operators to use such schemes, where appropriate, and that the
schemes should include use of existing governmental and other relevant
services.