Ship systems and equipment discussed at the IMO

Maritime life-saving equipment and ship’s fire safety systems have been the focus of the eleventh session of the IMO’s sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment, held last week in London.

One topic under consideration related to dealing with electric vehicle (EV) fires in Ro-Ro passenger ships.  It was noted that EVs have a lower fire rate of just 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold, compared to 1,530 fires per 100,000 sold for petrol cars. A variety of proposals were submitted for future fire-systems development to address growing concerns about fire protection, detection and extinguishing onboard vessels that carry ‘new energy’ vehicles. These have been developed into a roadmap through which proposed regulatory amendments will drafted.

During the discussion on arrangements for the testing of FreeFall Lifeboats without actual launching of the lifeboat, The Nautical Institute, along with various states and other consultative organisations, supported an intervention by InterManager seeking at least two separate safety mechanisms to prevent any possibility of inadvertent launch, with associated risk to seafarers, during such testing. However, some historic caution regarding the use of Fall Prevention Devices (FPDs) on lifeboats excluded this provision from the amendments to the LSA Code (and various linked MSC Circulars) that will be presented to the Maritime Safety Committee for approval. 

The meeting agreed new rules regarding ship’s atmospheric oil mist detectors, which will be sent to June’s Maritime Safety Committee for formal approval.

The sub-Committee also validated IMO Model Course 3.05 on Survey of Fire Appliances and Provisions, which will be published by the IMO once brief editorial and cross-references checks have been completed.

A more comprehensive report on this meeting will be published in the April edition of our members’ magazine, Seaways.