The Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Carriage of Cargoes)(Amendment) Regulation 1999, to be gazetted on Friday (March 26), will enhance the safety requirements in respect of carriage of cargoes by vessels.
A Marine Department spokesman said today (Wednesday) that the amendment would give effect to recent changes to Chapter VI of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974, which dealt with carriage of cargoes.

Under the amended Regulation, the shipper is required to provide to the shipmaster the appropriate information about the cargo to be carried in advance, so that necessary precautions for proper stowage and safe carriage can be put into effect.

"The master should ensure that cargo units, including containers, are loaded, stowed and secured in accordance with a Cargo Securing Manual approved by the Administration and drawn up to a standard at least equivalent to the guidelines developed by the International Maritime Organisation," the spokesman said.

For bulk cargoes, to prevent excess stresses on the structure of the ship, the ship owner should provide the master with the necessary technical information, special operational restrictions, and general loading and unloading instructions.

The amended Regulation also requires the master and the terminal representative to agree on a plan before bulk cargoes are loaded or unloaded to ensure that safety procedures are followed and the permissible stresses on the ship are not exceeded during loading and unloading.

"Apart from enhancing the safety requirements in respect of carriage of cargoes, the amendment also aims to minimise damage to bulk cargo carriers due to excess stresses on the ship structures during loading and unloading," the spokesman said.

Wednesday, 24 March 1999