IMO ADOPTS NEW REGULATIONS FOR BULK CARRIERS

IMO ADOPTS NEW REGULATIONS FOR BULK CARRIERS    The International Maritime Organization, the London-based United Nations agency involved with safety of shipping and protection of the marine environment, has adopted new regulations for bulk carriers during a session earlier in December of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee.
   Among other stipulations, the new rules include:
   * The fitting of “high level alarms and monitoring systems” to detect water entering a vessel’s hull;
   * Requiring “suitable means for access” for inspections on vessels;
   * Requiring double side skins for all new bulk carriers longer than 150 meters;
   * Allowing “a single free-fall survival craft with float-free capability” to replace multiple life boats on “new ships only;” and
   * Redefining what is meant by a “bulk carrier.”