RECALLING Article 28(b) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Committee,
RECALLING ALSO SOLAS chapter XII on
Additional safety measures for bulk carriers, which the 1997 SOLAS
Conference adopted with the aim of enhancing the safety of ships carrying
solid bulk cargoes,
RECALLING FURTHER that, having recognized the need to further
improve the safety of bulk carriers in all aspects of their design,
construction, equipment and operation, it examined the results of
various formal safety assessment (FSA) studies on bulk carrier safety,
RECOGNIZING that, on the basis of the outcome of the aforementioned
FSA studies, replacing hatch covers in existing bulk carriers would
not be cost-effective and that, instead, more attention should be
paid to hatch cover securing mechanisms and the issue of horizontal
loads, especially with regard to maintenance and frequency of inspection,
RECALLING that, at its seventy-seventh session, in approving MSC/Circ.1071 - Guidelines for bulk carrier
hatch cover surveys and owners' inspections and maintenance, it invited
Member Governments to ensure that companies, as defined in the ISM Code, that operate bulk carriers flying
their flag are made aware of the need to implement regular maintenance
and inspection procedures for hatch cover closing mechanisms in existing
bulk carriers in order to ensure proper operation and efficiency at
all times,
NOTING resolution MSC.170(79) by
which it adopted, inter alia, amendments to regulation
XII/7 (Survey and maintenance of bulk carriers) of the Convention,
where reference is made to mandatory Standards for owners' inspection
and maintenance of bulk carrier hatch covers,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Sub-Committee
on Ship Design and Equipment at its forty-seventh session,
1. ADOPTS, for the purposes of the application
of regulation XII/7 of the Convention, the Standards for owners' inspection
and maintenance of bulk carrier hatch covers, set out in the Annex to the present resolution;
2. INVITES Contracting Governments to the Convention
to note that the annexed Standards will take effect on 1 July 2006
upon the entry into force of the revised chapter
XII of the Convention;
3. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to transmit
certified copies of this resolution and the text of the annexed Standards
to all Contracting Governments to the Convention;
4. FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary-General to transmit
certified copies of this resolution and the text of the annexed Standards
to all Members of the Organization which are not Contracting Governments
to the Convention.