1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its seventy-sixth
session (4 to 13 December 2002), considered recommended action emanating
from various formal assessment (FSA) studies on bulk carrier safety,
in particular risk control options addressing steel repair and shipbuilding
practices. The Committee noted that, although there were industry
shipbuilding and repair standards available, these were only likely
to be utilized when the repairs were carried out under the supervision
of classification societies. In some circumstances, repairs were carried
out with no records documenting when or where the repairs had taken
place.
2 The Committee, at its seventy-seventh session
(28 May to 6 June 2003), having considered the recommendations made
by the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment at its forty-sixth
session, urged Member Governments to remind companies, as defined
in the ISM Code, operating ships flying their
flag of the companies' obligations with respect to ship design, construction,
repair and maintenance in compliance with the applicable provisions
of regulations I/11 and II-1/3-1 and chapter
IX of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, as amended, and regulation
I/1 of the 1966 Load Lines Convention and of
the 1988 Protocol relating thereto.
3 Additionally, the Committee, having noted another
recommendation of the DE Sub-Committee to extend the principles of MSC/Circ.807 on Riding repairs to cover all
repairs, approved the Guidelines for the survey of repairs, as set
out in the annex, acknowledging that the said Guidelines would address
the concerns expressed in paragraph 1.
4 Member Governments are invited to bring the
provisions of the annexed Guidelines to the attention of shipowners,
shipoperators, masters and other interested parties of the shipping
industry and ensure that the Guidelines are adhered to when repairs
are carried out.