IMSML Website Article 13/2023: Resolution MSC.527(106) - International Code for the Safety of Ships Carrying Industrial Personnel (IP Code), Part 3 of 6 - PART III of the IP Code, Regulations

PART II of the IP Code simply titled ‘REGULATIONS’, and deals with two areas: First, ‘Industrial Personnel’, see Regulation 1. Second, ‘Safe Transfer’, see Regulation 2.

Regulation 1 - Industrial Personnel

All industrial personnel shall be at least 16 years of age. There shall be available documentary evidence so that the master can be satisfied that such personnel are physically and medically fit. The personnel must be sufficiently fit to fulfil all the requirements to an acceptable standard set by the Regulatory Authority, see Paragraph 1.1.

All industrial personnel shall demonstrate adequate knowledge of the working language on board the ship. This is to ensure that they are able to communicate effectively with crew and understand any instructions given, see Paragraph 1.2. Note that the requirement is for effective ‘working language’, not necessarily ‘English’, although ‘English’ is arguably currently the lingua franca of the maritime world, see A Case for Domain-Specific Research into Seafarers’ Use of English as a Lingua Franca, by Achala K. Dissanayake at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Achala-Dissanayake-2/publication/352145060_A_Case_for_Domain-Specific_Research_into_Seafarers%27_Use_of_English_as_a_Lingua_Franca/links/6157edd5a6fae644fbbe58e0/A-Case-for-Domain-Specific-Research-into-Seafarers-Use-of-English-as-a-Lingua-Franca.pdf?origin=publication_detail (Downloaded on 4 September 2023)

In order to meet the functional requirements set out in Paragraph II/1.2.3, before boarding the ship, all industrial personnel shall receive the following training or instruction with respect to:

[1] Personal survival, see Paragraph 1.3.1, which includes:

(a) Knowledge of emergencies situations which may arise on board a ship, see Paragraph 1.3.1.1;

(b) Usage of personnel life-saving equipment, see Paragraph 1.3.1.2;

(c) Safe entry into water from a height, as well as survival in water, see Paragraph 1.3.1.3;

(d) Boarding a survival craft from the ship and water. This must be done whilst wearing a lifejacket, see Paragraph 1.3.4.

[2] Fire safety, including:

(a) Knowledge of the type of fire hazards on board ships, see Paragraph 1.3.2;

(b) Precautionary measures to be taken to prevent a fire, see Paragraph 1.3.2.

[3] Personal safety and social responsibilities, including:

(a) Understanding the master’s authority, or his/her representative on board, see Paragraph 1.3.3.1;

(b) Compliance with shipboard personnels’ instructions, see Paragraph 1.3.3.2;

(c) Understanding safety information, for example symbols, signs

and alarm signal found on ships, see Paragraph 1.3.3.3.

All these training and/or instructions are pre-requisites before industrial personnel can board the vessel. The master has to be provided with documentary evidence that personnel have received such training or instructions as specified, see Paragraph 1.4.

Prior to leaving port, immediately after boarding, or onboard ship-specific safety familiarisation, can be carried out. Paragraph 1.5 requires industrial personnel to receive instructions regarding the following:

[1] Ship’s layout, see Paragraph 1.5.1;

[2] Where personal life-saving appliances, muster and embarkation stations, escape routes and first aid stations are located, see Paragraph 1.5.2;

[3] Safety information, symbols, sign and alarms on board, see Paragraph 1.5.3;

[4] What action is to be taken when there is an alarm or declaration of emergency, see Paragraph 1.5.4.

The following training standards in footnote 1 of Paragraph 1.3 can be adopted for the purposes of Regulation 1:

[1] Recommendations for the Training and Certification of Personnel on Mobile Offshore Units, see Resolution A.1079(28);

[2] Global Wind Organisation (GWO);

[3] Off-shore Petroleum Training Organization (OPITO);

[4] Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (OPITO-accredited).

Regulation 2 - Safe Transfer

The following functional requirements have to be met in order to ensure safe transfer of personnel:

[1] Transfer appliances and arrangements shall be kept clean, and properly maintained. This can be achieved by regular inspections to ensure the equipment’s safety, see Paragraph 2.1.1;

[2] Supervision of rigging and use of personnel transfer arrangements. This is to be performed by a responsible officer, and operated by properly trained personnel in aspects of rigging and operation of mechanical equipment, see Paragraph 2.1.2;

[3] The supervising responsible officer and the navigation bridge shall be provided means of communication, see Paragraph 2.1.3;

[4] Permanent marking of personnel transfer arrangements, enabling identification, survey, inspection and record keeping. This record shall be kept on board the ship, see Paragraph 2.1.4;

[5] Checking of personnel transfer arrangements to ensure that they are functioning properly, see Paragraph 2.1.5;

[6] Safe and unobstructed passage for industrial personnel between where they are being accommodated on board and the personnel transfer arrangements, see Paragraph 2.1.6;

[7] Illumination of personnel transfer arrangements, eg lighting capable of being supplied by the emergency source, see Paragraph 2.1.7;

[8] The designated deck area for personnel transfer shall be free from obstructions, see Paragraph 2.1.8;

[9] When planning, and before executing personnel transfer, a job safety analysis shall be performed. This shall take into account environmental conditions, and operational / equipment limitations, see Paragraph 2.1.9;

[10] Any guidance developed for personnel transfer by the Regulatory Authorities, have to be taken into consideration whilst planning personnel transfer, see Paragraph 2.1.10.

Addition functional requirements in Paragraph 2.3 also include:

[1] Suitability of personnel transfer for arrangements on the ship, see Paragraph 2.3.1;

[2] An evaluation / analysis of the impact of failure of the the transfer arrangements which might affect the safety of personnel in Paragraph 2.3.2 shall also:

(a) The effect of a single failure, fire in any space, flooding of any watertight compartment, see Paragraph 2.3.2.2;

(b) Solutions if anything in (a) above were to occur, see Paragraph 2.3.2.2.

[3] Where a single failure results in more than one component in a system failing, the aggregate failure of the cascading failures should be considered, see Paragraph 2.3.3.

A safe transfer is highly dependent on the manoeuvrability of the ship, and its ability to keep position over time. This has to be evaluated together with the correct use of position keeping equipment, see Pargraph 2.4.

Any procedures carried out above shall take into account the correct number of personnel on board the ship at all times, see Paragraph 2.5

Thank you for reading IMSML Website Article 13/2023

Stay tuned for the next IMSML Website Article 14/2023: Resolution MSC.527(106) - International Code for the Safety of Ships Carrying Industrial Personnel (IP Code), Part 4 of 6 - PART IV of the IP Code - ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS FOR SHIPS CERTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SOLAS CHAPTER I

Signing-off for today,

Dr Irwin Ooi Ui Joo, LL.B(Hons.)(Glamorgan); LL.M (Cardiff); Ph.D (Cardiff); CMILT

Professor of Maritime and Transport Law

Head of the Centre for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution

Faculty of Law

Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam

Selangor, Malaysia

Monday, 4 September 2023

Note that I am the corresponding author for the IMSML Website Articles. My official email address is: uijoo310@uitm.edu.my