1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its ninety-first
session (26 to 30 November 2012), noted that the Sub-Committee on
Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC), at is seventeenth
session (17 to 21 September 2011), had decided not to finalize a draft
schedule for iron ore fines in order to await the outcome of related
research, with a view to finalizing the draft schedule(s) and appropriate
test methods at DSC 18; and had issued DSC.1/Circ.66/Rev.1 on Carriage of iron ore fines that may liquefy so that it
would continue to be applied until the finalization of the schedule(s).
2 In this regard, the Maritime Safety Committee,
at its ninety-first session, authorized DSC 18 to issue a DSC circular
on early implementation of the draft schedule(s) for iron ore fines,
after the Sub-Committee finalizes the draft schedule(s).
3 As instructed, DSC 18 (16 to 20 September 2013)
prepared a draft individual schedule for IRON ORE FINES, a draft amendment
to the individual schedule for IRON ORE and a draft amendment to appendix 2 to the IMSBC Code for the inclusion
of "Modified Proctor/Fagerberg test procedure for iron ore fines",
which are expected to be adopted as part of amendment 03-15 to the IMSBC Code by the Maritime Safety Committee, at
its ninety-fifth session, in 2015. Therefore, taking into account
that the mandatory entry into force date of these amendments would
be 1 January 2017, DSC 18 agreed to invite SOLAS Contracting Governments
to voluntarily implement the aforementioned draft schedules and test
procedure as soon as possible.
4 The draft individual schedule for IRON ORE FINES
and the draft revised individual schedule for IRON ORE are set out
in annexes 1 and 2 to this circular. The draft new test procedure
for determining TML of iron ore fines is set out in annex 3 to this
circular.
5 Member Governments are invited to bring this
circular to the attention of all concerned.