Global Maritime Regulatory System

Global Maritime Regulatory System

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As we know while the world keep on developing, a lot of trade involve with shipping industry. Hence the shipping industry must find a sustainable and viable way forward. Because shipping, as the most cost-effective way to transport the vast majority of international trade, will be central to sustainable global development and growth in the future.

A safe, secure, clean and efficient international shipping industry is indispensable to the modern world. And governments all over the world have an obligation to create a regulatory framework that allows that to happen.

IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, created by governments to enable them to do this. At IMO, the world's governments come together to turn that obligation into something more tangible. They turn it into a regulatory imperative.

In order to  provide and promote the highest standards of health, safety and environment protection IMO adopted four main pillars.

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1) SOLAS

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Purpose Of SOLAS Convention

The main objective of the SOLAS Convention is to specify minimum standard for the construction, equipment and operation of ships, compatible with their safety. Flag Sates are resresponsible for ensuring that ships under their flag comply with its requirements ,and a number of certifactes are prescribed in the Convention as proof that this has been done. Control provisions also allow Contracting Government to inspect ships of the other Contracting States if there are clear grounds for believing that the ships and its equipmen do not substancially comply with the requirements of the Convention - this procedure is known as part State control. The current SOLAS Convention includes Articles setting out generl obligations, amendements procedure and so on, followed by an Annex divided into 14 Chapter.

2) STCW

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In June 2010 a diplomatic conference in Manila adopted a set of far-reaching and comprehensive amendments to the 1978 International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers – known to us all more conveniently as the STCW Convention – and its associated Code. This instrument has been described as one for the four pillars of the global maritime regulatory system, along with two other IMO Conventions, SOLAS and MARPOL, and ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention. The amendments adopted mark the first major revision of the instrument since those adopted in 1995, which completely revised the original 1978 STCW Convention.
The shipping industry depends on competent, well-trained seafarers to ensure safety of life at sea, maritime security, efficiency of navigation and protection and preservation of the marine environment. The revised STCW Convention aims to provide the international standards necessary for training institutes and trainers to develop the much-needed skills and competencies for today’s seafarer .
The ITF has produced this guidance to help seafarers understand the revisions and locate the information that is of most relevance to them. I support this effort to make the Convention requirements accessible to all and trust that this guide will support the achievement of the objectives of the STCW Convention and Code.

3) MARPOL

 

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MARPOL 73/78 is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions.  It is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, and is the international treaty regulating disposal of waste generated by the normal operation of vessels.  The original MARPOL Convention was signed on February 17, 1973, but did not come into force.  The current Convention is a combination of the 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol.  Therefore, the convention was formed a result of the combination of two treaties adopted in 1973 and 1978 respectively and thus the name MARPOL 73/78. (“MARPOL” is short for marine pollution and “73/78” is short for the years 1973 and 1978.) MARPOL 73/78 became effective on October 2, 1983.

MARPOL 73/78 aims to minimize pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution.  Its stated object is “to preserve the marine environment through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of such substances.”

All countries that are signatories to MARPOL 73/78 are bound to follow its requirements, regardless of where their ships sail, and they are also responsible for vessels registered under their respective nationalities.

The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships – both accidental pollution and that from routine operations. MARPOL contains 20 Articles and 6 annexes.  The areas covered by each Annex is as follows:

Annex I – Regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil;
Annex II – Regulations for the control of pollution by noxious liquid substances in bulk;
Annex III – Prevention of pollution by harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form;
Annex IV – Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships;
Annex V – Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships; and
Annex VI – Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships

4) MLC

 

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The MLC, 2006 was adopted by government, employer and worker representatives at a special ILO International Labour Conference, in February 2006, to provide international standards for the world’s first genuinely global industry. Widely known as the “seafarers’ bill of rights,” it is unique in its effect on both seafarers and quality ship owners.

The comprehensive Convention sets out in one place seafarers' rights to decent conditions of work on almost every aspect of their working and living conditions including, among others, minimum age, employment agreements, hours of work or rest, payment of wages, paid annual leave, repatriation at the end of contract, onboard medical care, the use of licensed private recruitment and placement services, accommodation, food and catering, health and safety protection and accident prevention and seafarers’ complaint handling.

It was designed to be applicable globally, easy to understand, readily updatable and uniformly enforced and will become the "fourth pillar" of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, complementing the key Conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) dealing with safety and security of ships and protection of the marine environment.

“This Convention shows how tripartite dialogue and international cooperation can combine constructively for the most globalized of industries to concretely address the challenges to securing decent working and living conditions for seafarers, while simultaneously helping to ensure fair competition for ship owners,” says Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the International Labour Standards Department of the ILO, which has steered the development, adoption and entry into force since the very beginning of the process.