Flag.docx

Flag + Classification

Ship classification societies set and maintain standards of safety and reliability.

They provided this service to the shipper and insurer before the days of statutory control on the way ships were to be constructed and the equipment they were to carry.

Because of this, a trust was established between the classification society and the shipping industry and if a ship was ‘in class’, or was given a the Class A1 Lloyds, the cargo owner or underwriter could be confident that the ship was well found and had been built to the highest possible standard, that she had been surveyed during the building process and all her ancillary equipment, eg engines, plates, etc, had also been surveyed and passed as complete.

Once the ship was classed by the society it had to maintain an extensive and regular survey schedule to maintain that class, this would entail dry docking, under the society’s supervision, onboard inspections and dismantling of potentially hazardous equipment for detailed examination, eg boilers.

The shipowner could gain by having his ship in class be obtaining more favourable insurance rates and better chartering arrangements.

Present day Classification Societies provide more than just classing and surveying ships, they also provide

¨                    independent inspection agencies for States to use as supplementary to their own government surveyors

¨                    impartial exclusive surveyors who work in the interests of their principle with regard to building, accident and buying surveys

¨                    a comprehensive shipping information service, Lloyd’s Register of Ships is probably the oldest (first printed 1764) and the best known

¨                    a marine advisory service on most subjects connected with the technical aspects of ship operations

¨                    Auditing of quality systems established by ship operators.

¨                    a extensive service in small boat building, heavy industry, non-destructive testing, safety technology, engineering advise, quality assurance and the offshore industry

With the advent of international organisations, like the International Maritime Organisation, the classification societies realised that their control was being superseded by state legislation, over which they usually had little control, therefore in 1968 they formed an international association to protect their interests and to provide a unified voice in promoting improvements that they felt vital to the expanding technically complex shipping industry.

International Association of Classification Societies (IACS)

The main aim of IACS was to maintain close co-operation with the world’s maritime industries and to consult and co-operate with relevant international and maritime organisations in the promotion of improvements of standards of safety at sea.

The topics covered by IACS include

Classification Societies provide a useful and necessary service, there are often doubts expressed about their impartiality and their commercialism, but overall the shipping industry must be a safer place with the knowledge that most of them provide a worthwhile and noteworthy system of accreditation.

Flag

The Flag of the vessel is the state where the vessel is registered.

In most cases the difference in attitudes regarding registration requirements can be associated with the traditions a country has with the shipping industry.

Some countries with a tradition of maritime activities have very strict requirements for approving vessel registration:

¨ United States - shipowner needs to be a US citizen or US registered company. The vessel requires to have been built in the USA. The crew require to be (on the whole) US citizens.

¨ Greece - shipowner requires to be Greek or Greek Company. Crew require to be Greek citizens, though some allowance are made, but pay must comply with strict marine laws regarding pay and conditions.

Other traditional maritime states have a more pragmatic view on registration:

¨ UK - shipowner needs to have a percentage of UK ownership

¨ Germany - allows dual registration

¨ Norway - invented a «new» domain to allow owners to put their vessels under Norwegian law for some items, but not others (e.g crew conditions).

Open Registers

Many non-traditional maritime countries, however, have applied an Open Register system that allows any foreign person, company or organisation to register a vessel under its laws. They have no restrictions on the nationality of owner or crew, they do not impose financial burdens by way of tax and they have a limited infrastructure for the management of their vessels, relying mainly on private organisations and classification societies to control their flagged vessels technical operation. These countries are often referred to as Flags of Convenience.

Registration

Registration provides a ship with a national identity and should give the ship and crew some degree of protection when dealing with other States.

It provides jurisdiction for incidents occurring on board the ship when the ship is on the High Seas.

It further provides other States with a recognised procedure for dealing with events that occur in their coastal waters or on the High Seas.

Under various Conventions, UNCLOS III, UNCTAD’s United Nations Convention on Conditions for the Registration of Ships 1986, ILO (107 of 1958) and IMO Resolutions (A.441(XI)), an attempt has been made by international legislators to have a genuine link with State of registration and the ship’s owner

The Assembly invites every State to take necessary steps to ensure that the owner of a ship which flies its flag provides such State with current information to enable it to identify and contact the person responsible for that ship in regard to matters relating to maritime safety (IMO Resolution A.441(XI))

Thus the registration of the ship provides a statutory system under which the ship should be operated, both nationally and internationally.

However, the commercial life of the ship is little affected by the Flag that it flies, apart from certain States’ protectionism and the muted rumblings of the 40/40/20 Convention on Liner Conferences, most cargo owners are more concerned about freight rates and service levels than they are about registration.

Where pressure can be applied is through the ITF and their practice of stopping ships from operating in a port when it has a crew that is considered to be under paid. To overcome this problem some charterers demand that the ship has a Blue Ticket from the ITF that gives some immunity from delays based on crew’s wages.

Similarly, the flag of a ship has little influence with regard to insurance and classification societies, where the value of the owner weighs heavier than the nationality of the ship, especially where many of the less traditional Flag States use the classification societies to issue their statutory certificates.

Jurisdiction

The vessel is registered with Country C. While the vessel is on the High Seas it is solely governed by the laws, rules and regulations of that country. Safety and Pollution law, pay and conditions of the crew, and all other legal aspects are controlled by the Flag State.

Once the vessel enters the waters of a particular state e.g. Country B, it must comply with that state’s laws, this is known as Port State Control.

It is normal for a Port State not to interfere with the social aspects of shipboard life, but they will certainly become involved in safety, pollution and operational aspects.

Flag State

Under the customary role of the law of the sea, it is the Flag State that dictates the law relating to the ship.

It is on this premise that the IMO acts, laws are passed and regulations are implemented.

Maritime Legislation

Legislation now exists that covers most aspects of the ship and its commercial activities, and these regulations can be grouped into four areas

*        Ship

*        Crew

*        Environment

*        Safety Management

*        Security Management

*        Others

These categories are not, and can never be thought of as, separate; they overlap and certain Conventions apply to them individually, while others apply to them all.

Ship

International legislation regarding the ship and the safety of the ship consists of

*        Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) 1974

*        Convention on Load Lines 1966

*        Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships 1969

SOLAS

SOLAS consists of nine chapters covering all aspects of ship board safety, it extends the legislation to all sea going ships (except fishing boats which are legislated for by the Torremolinos Convention 1979).

SOLAS covers

*        Certification that all ships require showing that they comply with the regulations with regard to

- Cargo Ship Safety Construction

- Cargo Ship Safety Equipment

- Cargo Ship Safety Radio

- Passenger Ship Safety Certificate

- Exemption Certificate (Chapter I)

*        Construction, with regard  to subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations, fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction (Chapter II)

*        Life-saving appliances and arrangements (Chapter III)

*        Radio communications (Chapter IV)

*        Safety of navigation (Chapter V)

*        Carriage of cargoes (Chapter VI)

*        Carriage of dangerous goods, which implement the International Gas Carrier (IGS) Code, and the International Bulk Chemical (IBC) Code (Chapter VII)

*        Nuclear ships (Chapter VIII)

*        Management for the safe operation of ships (Chapter IX)

*        Safety measures for high-speed craft (Chapter X)

*        Special measures to enhance maritime safety (Chapter XI)

Loadline

The limitations on the draft to which a ship may load are a significant factor in the safety of that ship. IMO recognises this fact and are sponsors of this 1966 Convention.

The legislation has regulations relating to the

*        watertight integrity of the ship’s hull

*        additional safety with regard to doors and openings in the weather deck and hull

*        providing stability information for ships

*        marking the ship with her loadline

Tonnage

The aim of the parties to the Convention was to establish uniform principles and rules to determine the tonnage of ships engaged on international voyages.

The regulations define two tonnages

*       Gross Tonnage               - the total under deck volume of the ship

*        Net Tonnage               - the cargo carrying volume of the ship

Crew

Most legislation pertaining to the crew’s welfare and conditions is adopted through the International Labour Organisation, though IMO have produced some legislation on crew, from a safety point of view

*        Age Limits (ILO 58/1936)

*        Medical Certificate (ILO 73/1946)

*        Minimum Standards (ILO 147/1976)

*        Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) (IMO 1978)

Minimum Standards ILO 147

The Convention was adopted as one way of dealing with substandard ships, especially those registered under flags of convenience.

It applies to every seagoing ship engaged in the transport of cargo or passengers.

Article 2 of the Convention lays down the areas which the minimum standards are to be applied

*        safety standards, hours of work and manning

*        social security measures

*        shipboard conditions of employment and living arrangements

*        engagement of crew and complaints procedure

*        properly qualified and trained seafarers

*        official inquiries into serious marine casualties

A State that has ratified the Convention may take all measures necessary to rectify any conditions on board a ship of a different flag, that enters its port in the normal course of business, that does not conform to the standards set by the Convention, and which are clearly hazardous to safety and health (Article 4.1).

This is a divergence from the long accepted view that the Flag State controls the standards of the ship, and the emergence of the principle of Port State Control.

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