THE SOLAS
CONVENTION
The main
objective of the International Convention for the Safety of
Life at Sea (SOLAS) is to specify minimum standards for the
construction, equipment and operation of ships, compatible with
their safety. The Consolidated Text of the above Convention
of 1974, its Protocols of 1978 and 1988 as well as all subsequent
Amendments was published in 1992 but since then further resolutions
have been adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of
IMO containing later Amendments. So, the whole publication now
consists of 12 chapters:
I General
provisions
II - 1 Construction - Subdivision and stability, machinery and
electrical installations
II - 2 Construction - Fire protection, fire detection and fire
extinction
III Life-saving appliances and arrangements
IV Radiocommunications
V Safety of navigation
VI Carriage of cargoes
VII Carriage of dangerous goods
VIII Nuclear ships
IX Management for the safe operation of ships
X Safety measures for high-speed craft
XI Special measures to enhance maritime safety
XII Additional safety measures for bulk carriers
Some of
these have undergone great changes or even have been completely
rewritten, others have been added recently. Thus amendments
in chapter II -1 require ro-ro passenger ferries to comply with
new provisions on survivability while various changes in chapter
II - 2 aim to improve fire safety measures on existing passenger
ships and set out new fire-protection requirements for new ships.
Chapter III is one of those completely rewritten to take account
of new developments and introduce further improvements. It covers:
a) Requirements for survival craft namely improved lifeboats
and liferafts, i.e. totally or partially enclosed, fire-protected,
free-fall or davit-launched boats and rigid or inflatable liferafts;
carriage of special lifeboats on oil tankers, chemical tankers
and gas carriers; safer methods of stowing, boarding and launching
survival craft and rescue boats;
b) Requirements for personal life-saving appliances to protect
survivors from the effects of hypothermia by use of totally
enclosed lifeboats, davit-launched liferafts and immersion suits
or thermal protection aids;
c) Additional radio life-saving appliances for detection of
survivors such as a two-way VHF radiotelephone apparatus, radar
transponders, etc.;
d) Visual signal requirements connected with personal life-saving
appliances, i.e. lifebuoys fitted with lights and smoke signals,
life-jackets with lights and retroreflective material to assist
detection of persons, etc.
The list of life-saving appliances required on a "typical"
new cargo ship includes not only the above-mentioned facilities,
but also other visual signals, one EPIRB (Emergency Position
Indicating Radio Beacon) on each side of the vessel, line-throwing
appliances, and, last but not least, a general emergency alarm
system.
Chapter IV deals with the introduction of a global maritime
distress and safety system (GMDSS) which comprises the INMARSAT
and COSPAS-SARSAT satellite systems, digital selective calling
system, worldwide navigational warning system (WWNWS), including
NAVTEX and survival craft transponders (SART) for use in SAR
operations. The equipment required by ships varies according
to the sea area in which they operate - ships travelling to
the high seas will need to carry more communications equipment
than those which remain within reach of specified shore-based
radio facilities. In addition to distress communications, the
GMDSS also provides for the dissemination of general maritime
safety information (such as navigational and meteorological
warnings and urgent information to ships).
Chapter V applies to all ships on all voyages, the messages
they are to receive or send, shipborne navigational equipment,
manning, use of the automatic pilot, carriage of nautical publications,
etc. New regulations have been added recently for adopting ship
reporting systems and making ship’s routeing systems compulsory
and actions taken to enforce compliance with them. A 1997 amendment
deals with the implementation of VTS (Vessel Traffic Services)
which are traffic management systems, for example those used
in busy straits. These may be established by Governments when,
in their opinion, the volume of traffic or the degree of risk
justifies such services, but may only be made mandatory in sea
areas within a State's territorial waters.
The text of Chapter VI (for carriage of grain) has undergone
changes, too, and is extended to include other cargoes. The
chapter is backed up by two new Codes. To supplement the application
of its regulations a special Code for the Safe Practice for
Cargo Stowage and Securing and a Cargo Securing Manual have
been drawn up and approved concerning “all cargoes, other
than solid and liquid bulk cargoes”. Reference is also
made to the Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber
Deck Cargoes and the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes.
Chapter VII deals with the carriage of dangerous goods containing
provisions for the classification, packing, marking, labelling,
documentation and stowage of dangerous goods in packaged form,
in solid form in bulk, and liquid chemicals and liquefied gases
in bulk. The 1983 amendments to it extended its application
to chemical tankers and liquefied gas carriers by making reference
to two new Codes, the International Bulk Chemical Code and the
International Gas Carrier Code. Nuclear ships are covered in
chapter VIII. Only basic requirements are given and are particularly
concerned with radiation hazards.
Three new chapters were added in 1994. Among other things, they
made mandatory the usage of a new International Code of Safety
for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code) and the International Safety
Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships (ISM Code).
The Code establishes safety management objectives aiming:
· to provide for safe practices in ship operation and
a safe working environment;
· to establish safeguards against all identified risks;
· to continuously improve safety management skills of
personnel, including preparing for emergencies.
The Company is then required to establish and implement a policy
for achieving these objectives. The procedures required by the
Code should be documented and compiled in a Safety Management
Manual, a copy of which should be kept on board. Latest amendments
in them refer to the introduction of a ship identification number
in accordance with the IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme
to be duly entered in all relevant ship's documents and the
issue of a Document of Compliance to every company which complies
with the requirements of the ISM Code, a copy of this being
kept on board every ship and produced on request for verification.
Chapter XI was developed to introduce special measures to enhance
safety. It refers to a resolution adopted in November 1993 which
acknowledges the need for port States to be able to monitor
not only the way in which foreign ships comply with IMO standards
but also to be able to assess "the ability of ships' crews
in respect of operational requirements relevant to their duties,
especially with regard to passenger ships and ships which may
present a special hazard". Port State control inspections
are normally limited to checking certificates and documents.
But if certificates are not valid or if there are clear grounds
for believing that the condition of the ship or of its equipment,
or its crew, does not substantially meet the requirements of
a relevant instrument, a more detailed inspection may be carried
out. The operations and procedures selected for special attention
include ascertaining that crew members are aware of their duties
as indicated in the muster list; communications; fire and abandon
ship drills; familiarity with the ship's damage control and
fire control plans; bridge, cargo and machinery operations;
and ability to understand manuals and other instructions.
1997 amendments add a new Chapter XII to the Convention entitled
Additional Safety Measures for Bulk Carriers. They take into
account a study into bulk carrier survivability carried out
by the International Association of Classification Societies
(IACS) at the request of IMO. IACS found that during flooding
the most vulnerable areas of the vessel are the bulkhead between
numbers one and two holds at the forward end and the double
bottom of the ship especially if the ship is loaded in alternate
holds with high density cargoes (such as iron ore). If the bulkhead
between one hold and the next collapses, progressive flooding
could rapidly occur throughout the length of the ship and the
vessel would sink in a matter of minutes. During special surveys
of ships, particular attention should be paid to these areas
and, where necessary, reinforcements should be carried out.
Under Chapter XII, surveyors can take into account restrictions
on the cargo carried in considering the need for, and the extent
of, strengthening of the transverse watertight bulkhead or double
bottom. When restrictions on cargoes are imposed, the bulk carrier
should be permanently marked with a solid triangle on its side
shell. The date of application of the new Chapter to existing
bulk carriers depends on their age.
