EXPLANATORY NOTES
Marine Orders Part 31
Ship surveys and certification
Issue 6 (Amendment)
Order No. 9 of 2010
Authority
- Part IV of the Navigation Act 1912 (‘the Act’) deals with ships and shipping. Sections 190B and 191 of the Act are found in Part IV of the Act. Subsection 190B (1) of the Act empowers regulations to be made regarding construction, hull, equipment and machinery requirements of ships and for the survey, inspection and issuing of certificates.
- Subsection 191 (1) of the Act provides that the regulations may make provision for or in relation to giving effect to SOLAS.
- In addition, sections 206D to 206GA, which are also found in Part IV of the Act, specify that ship safety certificates be in a prescribed form in relation to a number of purposes including equipment, radio equipment and construction.
- Subsection 425 (1AA) of the Act provides that AMSA may make orders with respect to any matter mentioned in, amongst other Parts, Part IV of the Act, for or in relation to which regulations may be made.
- Order No. 9 of 2010 (the Order) is made pursuant to subsection 425 (1AA) of the Act.
Purpose
6. The Order gives effect to amendments to an international convention (SOLAS) to which Australia is a signatory. The impact of the Order is therefore machinery in nature. Based on the information available, no further analysis in the form of a Regulation Impact Statement is required (OBPR Reference number 11831).
7. Marine Orders Part 31 — Ship Surveys and Certification gives effect to Chapter I of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS).
8. The purpose of the amendment to this Order is to give effect to the amendment of a number of certificates in the Appendix to SOLAS. These amendments were made by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) Resolutions MSC.240(83), MSC.282(86) and MSC.283(86) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
9. The amendments in the Order implement the amendments made by the IMO and also update provisions that deal with internal review of administrative decisions.
10. IMO resolution MSC.240(83) came into force on 1 July 2009. The resolution recommended that certificates, as amended by the resolution, be issued at the first renewal survey after 1 July 2009. For this reason, the proposed amendments in the Order come into force on 1 January 2011. IMO resolutions MSC.282(86) and MSC.283(86) are to come into force on 1 January 2011.
Overview
11. The MSC of the IMO adopted amendments to the form of various statutory certificates contained in the Appendix to SOLAS by IMO Resolutions MSC.240(83), MSC.282(86) and MSC.283(86). These amendments relate to the following forms:
- Form MO-31/3 Passenger Ship Safety certificate
- Form P - Record of Equipment for the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate
- Form MO-31/4 Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate
- Form MO-31/5 Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate
- Form E - Record of Equipment for the Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate
- Form MO-31/7 Cargo Ship Safety Certificate
- Form C - Record of Equipment for Cargo Ship Safety Certificate
- Form PP - Record of Equipment for Passenger Ship Certificate of Survey
- Form CC/EE/RR - Record of Equipment for Cargo Ship Certificate of Survey
- Form FF - Record of Equipment for Fishing Vessel Certificate of Survey
12. The amendments include reference to a new item ‘Bridge navigational watch and alarm system (BNWAS)’ and make provision for accepting alternative design and arrangements for fire safety.
13. The entity currently responsible for internal review of decisions made by the Manager, Ship Inspections is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer Maritime Operations. The amendment will transfer this responsibility to the General Manager, Maritime Operations Division.
14. The opportunity has also been taken to update the reference in the note to Provision 1.1 from the 2004 edition of SOLAS to the most recent 2009 version of Chapter 1 of SOLAS.
Consultation
15. In addition to providing a copy of the draft of the Order on AMSA’s website, a copy of the draft of the Order was provided to a range of stakeholders for comment, including the following organisations:
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS);
- Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE);
- Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU)
- Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association Limited (APPEA)
- Australian Shipbuilders Association (ASbA)
- Australian Shipowners Association (ASA);
- Bureau Veritas (BV);
- China Classification Society (CCS);
- Class NK (NKK);
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (DITRDLG);
- Det Norske Veritas (DNV);
- Germanischer Lloyd (GL);
- Korean Register (KR)
- Lloyd’s Register (LR);
- National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC)
- Registro Italiano Navale (RINA)
- Shipping Australia Limited (SAL).
Document incorporated by reference
- International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS), as amended.
The above publication may be purchased from:
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR
Telephone +44(0)20 7735 7611
Facsimile +44(0)20 7587 3210
IMO website: http://www.imo.org
A list of distributors who maintain permanent stock of all IMO publications can be found on the IMO website.
Information on obtaining copies of IMO documents referred to in this Part is also available from AMSA’s website: www.amsa.gov.au or via email: international.relations@amsa.gov.au
Commencement
16. The amendments in the Order commence on 1 January 2011.
Amendments — Schedule 1: Amendments commencing on 1 January 2011
Note to Provision 1.1
17. Item [1] amends the note to refer to the most recent 2009 version of Chapter 1 of SOLAS.
Provision 2, definition of Deputy Chief Executive Officer Maritime Operations Division and definition of General Manager
18. Item [2] omits the definition of Deputy Chief Executive Officer Maritime Operations because the term is no longer used in the Part. Item [3] inserts a definition of General Manager because this entity will exercise functions under this Part.
Appendix
19. Items [4 and 5] amend form MO-31/3 Passenger Ship Safety Certificate to:
- make provision for accepting alternative design and arrangements for fire safety in accordance with SOLAS Regulation II-2/17; and
- insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form P) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
20. Items [6 and 7] amend form MO-31/4 Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate to:
- make provision for accepting alternative design and arrangements for fire safety in accordance with SOLAS Regulation II-2/17; and
- correct an omission in the form.
21. Items [8 and 9] amend form MO-31/5 Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate to:
- make provision for accepting alternative design and arrangements for fire safety in accordance with SOLAS Regulation II-2/17; and
- insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form E) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
22. Items [10 and 11] amend form MO-31/7 Cargo Ship Safety Certificate to:
- make provision for accepting alternative design and arrangements for fire safety in accordance with SOLAS Regulation II-2/17; and
- insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form C) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
23. Item [12] amends form MO-31/9 Certificate of Survey for a Passenger Ship to insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form PP) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
24. Item [13] amends form MO-31/10 Certificate of Survey for a Cargo Ship to insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form CC/EE/RR) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
25. Item [14] amends form MO-31/11 Certificate of Survey for a Fishing Vessel to insert a new item in the record of equipment (Form FF) for a bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS).
Wherever occurring throughout the Part
26. Item [15] replaces Deputy Chief Executive Officer Maritime Operations with General Manager throughout the Part. This reflects the transfer of responsibility mentioned in paragraph 14.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
7 December 2010