RECALLING Article 16(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organisation concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations concerning maritime safety,
RECALLING FURTHER that at its twelfth session it adopted resolution A.489(XII) regarding safe
stowage and securing of cargo units and other entities in ships other
than cellular container ships,
TAKING ACCOUNT of the IMO/ILO guidelines for training in
the packaging of cargo in freight containers,
RECOGNIZING that cargo units and vehicles are transported
in increasing numbers on seagoing ships,
RECOGNIZING FURTHER that the cargo is stowed on and secured
to cargo units and vehicles in most cases at the shipper's premises
or at inland terminals and transported by road or rail to ports prior
to the seagoing voyage and that the cargo on cargo units and vehicles
may not always be adequately stowed or secured for safe sea transport,
REALIZING that adequately stowed and secured cargoes on
cargo units and vehicles for road and rail transport in most cases
would also be capable of withstanding the forces imposed on them during
the sea leg of the transport,
ACKNOWLEDGING that there is a need for cargo units and vehicles
presented for transport by sea to be fitted with satisfactory securing
arrangements for securing them to the ship, arrangements for securing
of the cargo within the cargo unit or vehicle to facilitate its safe
stowage and securing therein and for ships to be fitted with adequate
securing points,
BELIEVING that the universal application of improved standards
and securing arrangements is best facilitated if the elements to be
taken into account when considering such matters are known to, and
considered by, all links in the transport chain,
BELIEVING FURTHER that this can best be achieved on an international
basis,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime
Safety Committee at its forty-eighth session,
1. INVITES Governments to issue recommendations
to the different links in the transport chain in their countries,
responsible for transport of cargo units and vehicles intended for,
and including, sea transport, taking into account the elements set
out in the Annex to this resolution,
2. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to bring these
elements to the attention of Member Governments and international
organizations responsible for the safety of road, rail and sea transport
in order that they can be taken into account in the design and construction
of cargo units and vehicles and the design and construction of ships
in which they are carried.