RS International seminars «Quality Shipping: XXI Century Standard»
XIII - «Humans and the Sea: a Long Way towards Harmony.»
(October 20-21)
The XIII International Seminar “Humans and the Sea: a Long Way towards Harmony” organized by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping will take place in St. Petersburg on 20-21 October 2010.
The International Maritime Organization has declared 2010 as the Year of Seafarer. It is not simply a slogan, but an appeal to decisive action!
In recent decades, the maritime community has focused ever more on the man-to-nature interaction. The desire to minimize the human factor negative influence on the world fleet accident rate through comprehensive implementation and absolute compliance with the basics of safety culture, to restore the profile of maritime vocation, to ensure a reasonable balance between nature management and conservation of the fragile ecosystem of our planet as the natural human habitat. These are but a few tasks at resolving of which the maritime industry is currently concentrated.
‘For thousands of years, mankind has been trying to cognize the mysteries of seas and oceans, deifying them, on the one hand, and using them to its own needs – on the other. Nowadays, people who understand the sea and feel anxious about its fate combine their efforts so as to lay a solid foundation of the would-be building named Quality Shipping, using a modern approach and advanced technologies. This path is long and thorny, but as the ancients said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. I have no doubt that a solution to this difficult task is feasible through cooperation and mutual understanding among all parties concerned’, said Nikolay Reshetov, the RS Director General.
Offered to the participants of the Seminar will be such urgent issues as development of international standards for ships navigating in polar waters, further elaboration of goal-based standards for the design and construction of oil tankers and bulk carriers, global PSC regimes activities and many others. Bearing in mind the UN has declared 2010 as the Year of Biological Diversity, due attention will be paid to actions in the shipping industry, aimed at minimizing the human impact on the Earth climate, at reducing the transfer of harmful pathogens with ballast water as well as to other marine ecology related issues.
RS calls all maritime industry representatives for cooperation and invites them to participate in the XIII International Seminar that will take place in St. Petersburg on 20-21 October 2010.
STATEMENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS TO THE XIII INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR
“Quality Shipping: XXI Century Standard. Humans and the Sea: a Long Way towards Harmony”
Participants to the Seminar,
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that the ending year has been declared the Year of the Seafarer by the International Maritime Organisation, and that the international maritime community has undertaken a number of substantial steps to attract fresh manpower to the world’s merchant fleet and to improve requirements for vocational training, conditions of work and rest on board ships, such as the adoption by the Manila International Conference of amendments to the STCW Convention and Code, as well as the decision of the Conference to celebrate the Day of the Seafarer on 25 June each year,
NOTING FURTHER that in 2010 IMO adopted the International Goal-Based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers which offer a wider than before choice of means and methods of improving safety of these ship types, and in future – of other ship types,
RECOGNIZING NEVERTHELESS that, despite positive trends seen in recent years, the international maritime community’s campaign against substandard ships still requires systematic and decisive actions by Port State Control, which may be illustrated by the forthcoming introduction of the Paris MoU New Inspection Regime, as well as measures taken by other world’s PSC regimes,
SHARING THE CONCERN of the world’s maritime community over the lack of substantive results in the development of measures aimed at restricting air pollution from ships,
ALSO SHARING SERIOUS CONCERN of the world’s community over continuing acts of piracy which represent an imminent threat to human life, safety of shipping and marine environment,
ACKNOWLEDGING the efforts undertaken by HELMEPA and sister associations worldwide to inform the general public of the role of human element in shipping and to motivate younger generations,
CONVINCED that a successful solution to problems related to the efficient implementation and further improvement of navigation safety standards, as well as to universal reduction of the impact of shipping on the environment, can only be achieved through concerted action of all stakeholders,
EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE to all participants of the XIII International Seminar who presented their views and expressed proposals with the aim to improve the safety at sea, marine environment protection, increase the seafarers’ training level and improve their work and rest conditions;
ARE CERTAIN that the activities of the International Maritime Organisation, regional and national legislative and regulatory bodies, shipowners and other trade associations, technical, scientific, academic, educational and other organizations active in the safety at sea and environmental protection domain, can and should aim at achieving uniform standards attainable by all stakeholders;
EMPHASIZE the necessity for complete and uniform implementation of international conventions’ requirements and application of innovative ship design and construction methods that provide for a safety level equivalent to the requirements of conventions or higher;
DECLARE their commitment to make all possible efforts to ensure quality shipping,
URGE coastal states and all stakeholders to support the creation of national MEPAs for the environment awareness of the maritime community and public at large,
URGE all stakeholders to continue and strengthen their co-operation aimed at rendering the development of the world shipping a sustainable process, inherently safe and sound ecologically.
