To help shipping companies prepare for implementation of the UN IMO global sulphur cap for ships’ fuel oil, ICS with the support of the Asian Shipowners' Association (ASA) and the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA), has produced – free of charge – some comprehensive guidance on implementation planning, to help ensure compliance across the shipping industry with this regulatory game changer. The ICS guidance has been prepared for the vast majority of ships that will comply with the global sulphur cap immediately after 1 January 2020 using fuel oils with a sulphur content of 0.50% m/m or less.

The IMO has released the following video explaining the Ballast Water Management Convention which entered into force on September 8, 2017.

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments  requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments.

The Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region is published under the auspices of the Port State Control Committee of the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU). This annual report is the twenty-second issue and covers port State control activities and developments in the 2016 calendar year.

The 1 January is traditionally a day when new legislation and amendments to existing regulations come into force. The year 2017 will be no different. The North of England P&I Club has issued reminder of the new regualtions that become effective from January 1st 2016 and also the amendments of existing regulations.

This delegation has been granted for conducting statutory certification and services under mandatory IMO instruments and national requirements.

Class ARS has received authorization from Tanzania to survey and certify Tanzanian registered ships for all the applicable statutory instruments as well as the approval of relevant manuals.

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC,2006). The aim of the CIC is to verify that the minimum standards for working and living conditions have been implemented on board.

At its 49^th meeting last month, the Paris MoU Committee approved the 2015 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and Recognized Organizations. These lists will take effect from 1 July 2016.On 1 July 2016 the performance lists will be used for calculating the ship risk profile and flags on the “Grey List” and “Black List” are subject to the more stringent banning measures in force since 1 January 2011. More information can be found in the 2015 Annual Report, which will be released in July 2016.

Verification of tonnage figures for BWM Convention completed-Further ratifications needed.

The process to verify global tonnage figures in order to assess entry into force criteria for the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention has now been completed.

This revised version covers port requirements from April 1st 2016. China has published new regulations designating three areas as sulphur control areas effective January 1st 2019. Eleven key ports are allowed to impose requirements for fuel burned at berth as early as January 1st 2016 – four will do so from April 1st. Mandatory port requirements will go into force January 1st 2017.

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) published flag state performance table 2015/2016.

There is nothing inherently unusual in an international ship registry system in which the owner of a ship may be located in a country other than the state whose flag the ship flies. 

Mongolia ratifies the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)

Mongolia is the 69^th ILO member State to ratify the Convention.

This delegation has been granted for conducting statutory certification and services under mandatory IMO instruments and national requirements.

Class ARS has received authorization from Mongolia Ship Registry to survey and certify Mongolian registered ships for all the applicable statutory instruments as well as the approval of relevant manuals.