Draft International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC CODE)

Draft International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC CODE) Content :

1. Section 1 General provisions and definitions
2. Section 2 General loading, carriage and unloading precautions
3. Section 3 Safety of personnel and ship
4. Section 4 Assessment of acceptability of consignments for safe shipment
5. Section 5 Trimming procedures
6. Section 6 Methods of determining angle of repose
7. Section 7 Cargoes that may liquefy
8. Section 8 Test procedures for cargoes that may liquefy
9. Section 9 Materials possessing chemical hazards
10. Section 10 Carriage of solid bulk wastes
11. Section 11 Security provisions
12. Section 12 Stowage factor conversion tables
13. Section 13 References

1. Appendix 1 Individual schedules of solid bulk cargoes
2. Appendix 2 Laboratory test procedures, associated apparatus and standards
3. Appendix 3 Properties of solid bulk cargoes
4. Appendix 4 Index of solid bulk cargoes

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS Convention), as amended, deals with various aspects of maritime safety and contains, in parts A and B of chapter VI and part B of chapter VII, the mandatory provisions governing the carriage of solid bulk cargoes and the carriage of dangerous goods in solid form in bulk, respectively. These provisions are amplified in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code).

Detailed fire protection arrangements for ships carrying solid bulk cargoes are incorporated into chapter II-2 of the SOLAS Convention by regulations 10 and 19. Attention is drawn to regulation II-2/19.4 (or II-2/54.3) of the SOLAS Convention as amended. This provides for an appropriate document as evidence of compliance of construction and equipment with the requirements of regulation II-2/19 (or II.2/54) to be issued to ships carrying dangerous goods in solid form in bulk, as defined in regulation VII/7 of the Convention, except class 6.2 and class 7, which are:

• Cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage or over constructed on or after 1 September 1984; or
• Cargo ships of less than 500 gross tonnage constructed on or after 1 February 1992.

The IMSBC Code that was adopted by resolution [MSC.xx(85)] was recommended to Governments for adoption or for use as the basis for national regulations in pursuance of their obligations under regulation of the SOLAS Convention, as amended. The Code is mandatory under the provision of the SOLAS Convention from [date of entry into force]. However, some parts of the Code continue to be recommendatory or informative. It needs to be emphasized that, in the context of the language of the Code: the words “shall”, “should” and “may”, when used in the Code, mean that the relevant provisions are “mandatory”, “recommendatory” and “optional”, respectively. Observance of the Code harmonizes the practices and procedures to be followed and the appropriate precautions to be taken in the loading, trimming, carriage and discharge of solid bulk cargoes when transported by sea, ensuring compliance with the mandatory provisions of the SOLAS Convention.

The Code has undergone many changes, both in layout and content, in order to keep pace with the expansion and progress of industry. Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is authorized by the Organization’s Assembly to adopt amendments to the Code, thus enabling the IMO to respond promptly to developments in transport.

The MSC at its eighty-fifth session agreed that, in order to facilitate the safe transport of solid bulk cargoes, the provisions of the Code may be applied from 1 January 2009 on a voluntary basis, pending their official entry into force on 1 January 2011 without any transitional period. This is described in resolution [MSC.xx(85)].