SOLAS

Emission
The SOLAS Convention in its successive
forms is generally regarded as the most
important of all international treaties
concerning the safety of merchant ships. The
first version was adopted in 1914, in
response to the Titanic disaster, the second
in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in
1960. The 1974 version includes the tacit
acceptance procedure - which provides that
an amendment shall enter into force on a
specified date unless, before that date,
objections to the amendment are received
. from an agreed number of Parties

As a result the 1974 Convention has been

updated and amended on numerous
occasions. The Convention in force today is
sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as
.amended

Technical provisions
The main objective of the SOLAS Convention
is to specify minimum standards for the
construction, equipment and operation of

ships, compatible with their safety. Flag

States are responsible for ensuring that
ships under their flag comply with its
requirements, and a number of certificates
are prescribed in the Convention as proof
that this has been done. Control provisions
also allow Contracting Governments to
inspect ships of other Contracting States if
there are clear grounds for believing that the
ship and its equipment do not substantially
comply with the requirements of the
Convention - this procedure is known as port
State control. The current SOLAS Convention
includes Articles setting out general
.obligations, amendment procedure

Noise Code
Vibration and noise have a major negative
impact on all the systems onboard, the crew,
the environment and the ship itself. This has
led to a growing attention for onboard noise
reduction and regulatory requirements.
Compliance with working and safety
regulations require vibration and noise
control to be taken seriously. Regulatory
requirements such as the IMO Noise Code
pose challenges for fleet owners,
.shipbuilders and engineers
IMO Noise Code

To protect personnel from noise, SOLAS

regulation II-1/3-12 requires ships to be
constructed to reduce onboard noise in
accordance with the IMO Noise Code
MSC.337(91): Code on noise levels on-board
ships. Until adoption of this regulation,
most countermeasures against noise and
vibration were recommendations. The IMO
Noise Code is now mandatory for ships of
1,600 gross tonnage or more. These ships
must be constructed to reduce on-board
noise and to protect personnel from noise,
ensuring better working and living conditions
.on board
For accommodation spaces in particular,
these requirements are very strict and hard
to meet with conventional vibration isolators
and a traditional isolator selection approach.
Conventional rubber-based isolators provide
high isolation levels for mid-range and higher
frequencies, but do not reach the required
level of isolation of the strong, low frequency
vibrations and noise the crew and equipment
are exposed to. As a result, the noise limit
levels in the noise code may no longer be
achieved by applying traditional rubberbased vibration isolators. However, air
suspension literally decouples the
accommodations from the hull, providing the
.level of isolation that is required

Anti-fouling Systems
The International Convention on the
Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on
Ships, which was adopted on 5 October 2001,
will prohibit the use of harmful organotin
compounds in anti-fouling paints used on
ships and will establish a mechanism to
prevent the potential future use of other
harmful substances in anti-fouling systems.
The Convention entered into force on 17
.September 2008

Under the terms of the Convention, Parties to

the Convention are required to prohibit
and/or restrict the use of harmful anti-fouling
systems on ships flying their flag, as well as
ships not entitled to fly their flag but which
operate under their authority and all ships
that enter a port, shipyard or offshore
.terminal of a Party
Annex I attached to the Convention states
that by an effective date of 1 January 2003,
all ships shall not apply or re-apply
organotins compounds which act as biocides
in anti-fouling systems, and by 1 January
:2008 (effective date), ships either
a) shall not bear such compounds on their
hulls or external parts or surfaces; or

b) shall bear a coating that forms a barrier

to such compounds leaching from the
underlying non-compliant anti-fouling
.systems
This applies to all ships (except fixed and
floating platforms, floating storage units
(FSUs), and floating production storage and
off-loading units (FPSOs) that have been
constructed prior to 1 January 2003 and that
have not been in dry-dock on or after 1
.January 2003

Ships of above 400 gross tonnage and above

engaged in international voyages (excluding
fixed or floating platforms, FSUs and FPSOs)
will be required to undergo an initial survey
before the ship is put into service or before
the International Anti-fouling System
Certificate is issued for the first time; and a
survey when the anti-fouling systems are
.changed or replaced

Ships of 24 metres or more in length but less

than 400 gross tonnage engaged in
international voyages (excluding fixed or
floating platforms, FSUs and FPSOs) will have
to carry a Declaration on Anti-fouling
Systems signed by the owner or authorized
agent. The Declaration will have to be

accompanied by appropriate documentation

.such as a paint receipt or contractor invoice

Anti-fouling systems to be prohibited or

controlled will be listed in an annex (Annex
1) to the Convention, which will be updated
.as and when necessary

The Convention includes a clause in Article

12 which states that a ship shall be entitled
to compensation if it is unduly detained or
delayed while undergoing inspection for
.possible violations of the Convention

The Convention provides for the

establishment of a technical group to
include people with relevant expertise to
review proposals for other substances used
in anti-fouling systems to be prohibited or
restricted. Article 6 on the process for
proposing amendments to controls on antifouling systems sets out how the evaluation
of an anti-fouling system should be carried
.out