The 106th session of the Maritime Safety Committee was held in person from 2 to 11 November 2022. Lorenzo Pollicardo, Technical and Environmental Director of SYBAss, attended the entire Committee to represent SYBAss and has summarised the meeting highlights below.
- Adoption of the new SOLAS Chapter XV and a related new international code of safety of ships carrying industrial personnel (IP Code)
- Adoption of the amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2 to prevent the supply of fuel oils with flashpoints lower than permitted
- Approval of the new guidelines for lifting appliances and anchor handling winches
- Progress on the draft of a new international code of safety for maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS)
MSC 106 addressed the adoption of amendments to mandatory instruments that were approved at MSC 105 together with some of the items postponed from previous meetings including items originally submitted to MSC 104 and MSC 105.
Introduction of an ad-hoc mid-term SOLAS amendment cycle: the pandemic disruption caused a delay in the finalisation of amendments to SOLAS. To expediate the entry into force of any relevant draft SOLAS amendments and associated Codes, provided they are adopted before 1 July 2024 they will enter into force on 1 January 2026, rather than 1 January 2028 under the usual four-year amendment cycle. Following this mid-term cycle, MSC will revert to the normal four-year amendment cycle with draft amendments approved and adopted after 1 July 2024 and before 1 July 2026 due to enter into force on 1 January 2028.
Please note that the presented information reflects the status at the time of MSC 106 and may change as a result of ongoing developments. It is also uncertain at this time whether the mentioned amendments or new regulations will eventually be adopted in future versions of the Red Ensign Group Yacht Codes or other flag codes.