2015: New IMO Rules about Safety

Two new safety regulations take effect this year to improve crew and passenger safety. 

As a result of the Costa Concordia disaster, IMO Resolution MSC 350(92) has been amended to state that passenger muster drills must be undertaken before the vessel leaves any port where new passengers are taken on. In the past, a period of 24 hours within departure was allowable.

According to P&I insurer Skuld, investigations after the Costa Concordia disaster revealed that passenger ships picking up guests at multiple ports did not always hold a muster drill for new passengers before departing the present port of call. In the Costa Concordia case, some passengers had not yet undertaken the drill when the accident occurred.

Also from January 1, SOLAS Regulation III/19 requires that enclosed space entry and rescue drills are conducted every two months. All crew members who have responsibilities for entry in to enclosed spaces, or rescue from them, are required to participate in these drills.

Many tragedies have occurred after crew members or stevedores have entered an enclosed space starved of oxygen or containing harmful gasses. Typically, serious accidents occur due to a failure to follow safety procedures.

Incidents have included oxygen starved holds resulting from the carriage of organic cargoes including wheat, timber and logs, and also of mineral cargoes such as direct reduced iron (DRI) or coal, says Skuld. At other times, accidents happened while tanks or cargo holds were being inspected or when maintenance was carried out.

“Tragically, these accidents have at times been compounded, because once it became clear that someone was in trouble, someone else rushed to help them - but without themselves first taking proper precautions and using appropriate safety equipment. On occasion a number of fatalities resulted from such an incident,” says Christian Ott, Vice President Head of Claims, Skuld Singapore Branch.

At sea-level, humans require air that contains a certain minimum quantity of oxygen, and that is a requirement for at least 19.5 percent oxygen. Below that, an environment will be unsafe. “It must be stressed, however, that even at 19.5 percent oxygen the air may be unsafe, given that the basic oxygen level of air is 20.9 percent at sea level,” says Ott. “Where, for instance, the 1.4 percent difference is taken up by a gas such as carbon monoxide then a person may fall unconscious within a few breaths, and death may follow within three minutes.”