2) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers 2015 edition - Amendment 1 October

2016

Amendment 1 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen (COSWP) 2015

provides updated safety signs and a new chapter on Ships Serving Offshore Renewables.

Amendment 1 includes the following:

New chapter (Chapter 32) covering Ships Serving Offshore Renewables.

Updated signs in Chapter 9, Safety Signs.

3) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers 2015 edition - Amendment 2 December 2017

ISBN: 9780115535765

Amendment 2 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) 2015 Edition

provides new information on sunglasses, the risk from sharps, solid carbon dioxide, and safe access to

small craft.

Amendment 2 includes the following:

Update to Chapter 3, with the addition of information on sunglasses and risk from sharps.

Update to Chapter 21, with information about solid carbon dioxide.

Update to Chapter 22, with information about safe access to small craft.

4) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers - Amendment 3, October 2018

ISBN: 9780115536212

Amendment 3 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) 2015 edition

provides updates to chapters 18 and 19.

Amendment 3 includes the following:

Update to Chapter 18, with text reordered to move standards for equipment to an annex.

Update to Chapter 19, with text reordered to move standards for equipment to an annex.

5) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers - Amendment 4, October 2019

ISBN: 9780115537127
Amendment 4 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) 2015 edition

provides updates to Chapters 1, 3, 10, 13 and 24.

Amendment 4 includes the following:

Update to Chapter 1, with risk assessment forms added

Update to Chapter 3, with updated information on the safe use of e-cigarettes.

Update to Chapter 10, with updated information on the safe rigging of pilot ladders.

Update to Chapter 13, with a list of human and organizational factors that may have contributed

to an accident.

Update to Chapter 24, with more information about welding fumes.

The Code details the regulatory framework for health and safety on board ships, safety

management and statutory duties underlying the advice in the Code and the areas that should

be covered when introducing a new recruit to the safety procedures on board.

5) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers - Amendment 5, October 2020

ISBN: 9780115539770

Amendment 5 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) 2015

edition provides updates to Chapters 1-6, 8-12, 15, 18, 20-24, 26, and 28.

Amendment 5 includes the following updates:

Chapter 4

New section on damage control drills

New annex with table of emergency drills and their frequency

Chapter 12

Updated info on vibration exposure limits

Table of recommended maximum sound limits for different areas on board ship updated in annex

Chapter 15
Updated info on personal monitoring equipment

New table about testing for toxic gases

Chapter 20

Updated info on isolation while working on powered machinery or equipment

New section on critical equipment

New info on the lock out, tag out (LOTO) safety procedure

6) Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers - Amendment 6, October 2021

ISBN: 9780115540646

Amendment 6 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) 2015

edition provides updates to Chapters 3, 4, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 26.

Amendment 6 includes the following updates:

Chapter 3 - New section on the use of mobile phones and other personal electronic devices

Chapter 4 - Addition of new sub-sections and an annex on launching drills for lifeboats and rescue

boats

Chapter 14 - Items added to the permits to work forms

Chapter 18 - Ropes and wires information rearranged Chapter 19 Updated advice on the regular

examination of lifting equipment or accessories

Chapter 19 - Updated advice on the regular examination of lifting equipment or accessories

Chapter 20 - Information added about assistive-start substances and maintenance-free storage

batteries

Chapter 26 - Addition of a new sub-section and annex on safe self-mooring operations and

examples of mooring arrangements

The amendment consists of loose-leaf pages that replace select pages from the main edition

binder.
What are the safe working practices on board ships?

1 Leave the area - upwind.

2 Investigate the cause and assess the risk.

3 Tell the emergency services.

4 If you feel dizzy or smell fumes, GET OUT FAST.

5 Do NOT rush in if persons collapse

6 Do NOT enter hold with leaker without permission.

7 Do NOT take risks.

10 Most Common Life-Threatening Accidents On Board Ships

Enclosed Space Accidents. ...

Electrical Shock Accidents. ...

Machinery Explosion – Generator, compressor, boiler blast etc. ...

Mooring Operations. ...

Falling From Height. ...

Piracy Attacks. ...

Lifeboat Testing Accidents. ...

Gangway Fall.
THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS

BEING DESIROUS of promoting safety of life at sea by establishing in a common agreement

uniform principles and rules directed thereto,

CONSIDERING that this end may best be achieved by the conclusion of a Convention to

replace the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960, taking account of

developments since that Convention was concluded,

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Article I

General obligations under the Convention

(a) The Contracting Governments undertake to give effect to the provisions of the present

Convention and the annex thereto, which shall constitute an integral part of the present

Convention. Every reference to the present Convention constitutes at the same time a reference

to the annex.

(b) The Contracting Governments undertake to promulgate all laws, decrees, orders and

regulations and to take all other steps which may be necessary to give the present Convention

full and complete effect, so as to ensure that, from the point of view of safety of life, a ship is fit

for the service for which it is intended.

Article II

Application

The present Convention shall apply to ships entitled to fly the flag of States the Governments of

which are Contracting Governments.

Article III

Laws, regulations
The Contracting Governments undertake to communicate to and deposit with the Secretary-

General of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization* (hereinafter referred to

as “the Organization”):

(a) a list of non-governmental agencies which are authorized to act in their behalf in the

administration of measures for safety of life at sea for circulation to the Contracting

Governments for the information of their officers;

(b) the text of laws, decrees, orders and regulations which shall have been promulgated on the

various matters within the scope of the present Convention;

(c) a sufficient number of specimens of their certificates issued under the provisions of the

present Convention for circulation to the Contracting Governments for the information of their

officers. ____________________ * The name of the Organization was changed to “International

Maritime Organization” (IMO) by virtue of amendments to the Organization’s Convention which

entered into force on 22 May 1982. -3-

Article IV

Cases of force majeure

(a) A ship, which is not subject to the provisions of the present Convention at the time of its

departure on any voyage, shall not become subject to the provisions of the present Convention

on account of any deviation from its intended voyage due to stress of weather Of any other case

of force majeure.

(b) Persons who are on board a ship by reason of force majeure or in consequence of the

obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons shall not be taken into

account for the purpose of ascertaining the application to a ship of any provisions of the present

Convention.
Article V

Carriage of persons in emergencies

(a) For the purpose of evacuating persons in order to avoid a threat to the security of their lives

a Contracting Government may permit the carriage of a larger number of persons in its ships

than is otherwise permissible under the present Convention.

(b) Such permission shall not deprive other Contracting Governments of any right of control

under the present Convention over such ships which come within their ports.

(c) Notice of any such permission, together with a statement of the circumstances, shall be sent

to the Secretary-General of the Organization by the Contracting Government granting such

permission.

Article VI

Prior treaties and conventions

(a) As between the Contracting Governments, the present Convention replaces and abrogates

the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea which was signed in London on 17

June 1960.

(b) All other treaties, conventions and arrangements relating to safety of life at sea, or matters

appertaining thereto, at present in force between Governments parties to the present

Convention shall continue to have full and complete effect during the terms thereof as regards:

(i) ships to which the present Convention does not apply;

(ii) ships to which the present Convention applies, in respect of matters for which it has not

expressly provided.

(c) To the extent, however, that such treaties, conventions or arrangements conflict with the

provisions of the present Convention, the provisions of the present Convention shall prevail.

(d) All matters which are not expressly provided for in the present Convention remain subject to

the legislation of the Contracting Governments.

When in accordance with the present Convention special rules are drawn up by agreement

between all or some of the Contracting Governments, such rules shall be communicated to the

Secretary-General of the Organization for circulation to all Contracting Governments. -4-

Article VIII

Amendments

(a) The present Convention may be amended by either of the procedures specified in the

following paragraphs.

(b) Amendments after consideration within the Organization:

(i) Any amendment proposed by a Contracting Government shall be submitted to the Secretary-

General of the Organization, who shall then circulate it to all Members of the Organization and

all Contracting Governments at least six months prior to its consideration.

(ii) Any amendment proposed and circulated as above shall be referred to the Maritime Safety

Committee of the Organization for consideration.

(iii) Contracting Governments of States, whether or not Members of the Organization, shall be

entitled to participate in the proceedings of the Maritime Safety Committee for the consideration

and adoption of amendments.

(iv) Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Governments

present and voting in the Maritime Safety Committee expanded as provided for in subparagraph

(iii) of this paragraph (hereinafter referred to as “the expanded Maritime Safety Committee”) on

condition that at least one third of the Contracting Governments shall be present at the time of

voting.
(v) Amendments adopted in accordance with subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph shall be

communicated by the Secretary-General of the Organization to all Contracting Governments for

acceptance.

(vi) (1) An amendment to an article of the Convention or to chapter I of the annex shall be

deemed to have been accepted on the date on which it is accepted by two thirds of the

Contracting Governments.

(2) An amendment to the annex other than chapter I shall be deemed to have been accepted

(aa) at the end of two years from the date on which it is communicated to Contracting

Governments for acceptance; or

(bb) at the end of a different period, which shall not be less than one year, if so determined at

the time of its adoption by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Governments present and

voting in the expanded Maritime Safety Committee.

However, if within the specified period either more than one third of Contracting Governments,

or Contracting Governments the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not less than fifty

per cent of the gross tonnage of the World’s merchant fleet, notify the Secretary-General of the

Organization that they object to the amendment, it shall be deemed not to have been accepted.

(vii) (1) An amendment to an article of the Convention or to chapter I of the annex shall enter

into force with respect to those Contracting Governments which have accepted it, six months

after the date on which it is deemed to have been accepted, and with respect to each

Contracting Government which accepts it after that date, six months after the date of that

Contracting Government’s acceptance.

(2) An amendment to the annex other than chapter I shall enter into force with respect to all

Contracting Governments, except those which have objected to the amendment under

subparagraph (vi)(2) of this paragraph and which have not withdrawn such objections, six months

after the date on which it is deemed to have been accepted. However, before the date set for
entry into force, any Contracting Government may give notice to the Secretary- General of the

Organization that it exempts itself from giving effect to that amendment for a period not longer

than one year from the date of its entry into force, or for such longer period as may be determined

by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Governments present and voting in the expanded

Maritime Safety Committee at the time of the adoption of the amendment.

(c) Amendment by a Conference:

(i) Upon the request of a Contracting Government concurred in by at least one third of the

Contracting Governments, the Organization shall convene a Conference of Contracting

Governments to consider amendments to the present Convention.

(ii) Every amendment adopted by such a Conference by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting

Governments present and voting shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the

Organization to all Contracting Governments for acceptance.

(iii) Unless the Conference decides otherwise, the amendment shall be deemed to have been

accepted and shall enter into force in accordance with the procedures specified in

subparagraphs (b)(vi) and (b)(vii) respectively of this article, provided that references in these

paragraphs to the expanded Maritime Safety Committee shall be taken to mean references to

the Conference.

(d) (i) A Contracting Government which has accepted an amendment to the annex which has

entered into force shall not be obliged to extend the benefit of the present Convention in respect

of the certificates issued to a ship entitled to fly the flag of a State the Government of which,

pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (b)(vi)(2) of this article, has objected to the

amendment and has not withdrawn such an objection, but only to the extent that such

certificates relate to matters covered by the amendment in question.

(ii) A Contracting Government which has accepted an amendment to the annex which has
entered into force shall extend the benefit of the present Convention in respect of the certificates

issued to a ship entitled to fly the flag of a State the Government of which, pursuant to the

provisions of subparagraph (b) (vii)(2) of this article, has notified the Secretary- General of the

Organization that it exempts itself from giving effect to the amendment.

(e) Unless expressly provided otherwise, any amendment to the present Convention made

under this article, which relates to the structure of a ship, shall apply only to ships the keels of

which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction, on or after the date on which the

amendment enters into force.

(f) Any declaration of acceptance of, or objection to, an amendment or any notice given under

subparagraph (b)(vii)(2) of this article shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary-General of

the Organization, who shall inform all Contracting Governments of any such submission and the

date of its receipt.

(g) The Secretary-General of the Organization shall inform all Contracting Governments of any

amendments which enter into force under this article, together with the date on which each such

amendment enters into force.

Article IX Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession

(a) The present Convention shall remain open for signature at the Headquarters of the

Organization from 1 November 1974 until 1 July 1975 and shall thereafter remain open for

accession. States may become parties to the present Convention by:

(i) signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval; or

(ii) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification, acceptance

or approval; or

(iii) accession.

(b) Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an

(c) The Secretary-General of the Organization shall inform the Governments of all States which

have signed the present Convention or acceded to it of any signature or of the deposit of any

instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession and the date of its deposit.

Article X

Entry into force

(a) The present Convention shall enter into force twelve months after the date on which not less

than twenty-five States, the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not less than fifty per

cent of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping, have become parties to it in

accordance with article IX.

(b) Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited after the date on

which the present Convention enters into force shall take effect three months after the date of

deposit.

(c) After the date on which an amendment to the present Convention is deemed to have been

accepted under article VIII, any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

deposited shall apply to the Convention as amended.

Article XI

Denunciation

(a) The present Convention may be denounced by any Contracting Government at any time

after the expiry of five years from the date on which the Convention enters into force for that

Government.

(b) Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of denunciation with the

Secretary-general of the Organization who shall notify all the other Contracting Governments of

any instrument of denunciation received and of the date of its receipt as well as the date on
which such denunciation takes effect.

(c) A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be specified in the

instrument of denunciation, after its receipt by the Secretary-General of the Organization.

Article XII

Deposit and registration

(a) The present Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Organization

who shall transmit certified true copies thereof to the Governments of all States which have

signed the present Convention or acceded to it.

(b) As soon as the present Convention enters into force, the text shall be transmitted by the

Secretary-general of the Organization to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for

registration and publication, in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article XIII

Languages

The present Convention is established in a single copy in the Chinese, English, French, Russian

and Spanish languages, each text being equally authentic. Official translations in the Arabic,

German and Italian languages shall be prepared and deposited with the signed orginal.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, * being duly authorized by their respective

Governments for that purpose, have signed the present Convention.

DONE AT LONDON this first day of November one thousand nine hundred and seventy-four. *

Signatures omitted*

Protocol of 1988 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,

1974

THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT PROTOCOL, BEING PARTIES to the International

Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, done at London on 1 November 1974,

RECOGNIZING the need for the introduction into the above-mentioned Convention of
provisions for survey and certification harmonized with corresponding provisions in other

international instruments,

CONSIDERING that this need may best be met by the conclusion of a Protocol relating to the

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974,

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Article I

General obligations

1 The Parties to the present Protocol undertake to give effect to the provisions of the present

Protocol and

the annex hereto, which shall constitute an integral part of the present Protocol. Every

reference to the

present Protocol constitutes at the same time a reference to the annex hereto.

2 As between the Parties to the present Protocol, the provisions of the International Convention

for the

Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended, (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”) shall

apply

subject to the modifications and additions set out in the present Protocol.

3 With respect to ships entitled to fly the flag of a State which is not a Party to the Convention and

the present

Protocol, the Parties to the present Protocol shall apply the requirements of the Convention

and the

present Protocol as may be necessary to ensure that no more favorable treatment is given

to such ships.

Article II
Prior treaties

1 As between the Parties to the present Protocol, the present Protocol replaces and abrogates

the Protocol

of 1978 relating to the Convention.

2 Notwithstanding any other provisions of the present Protocol, any certificate issued under, and

in

accordance with, the provisions the Convention and any supplement to such certificate

issued under,

and in accordance with, the provisions of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the Convention

which is

current when the present Protocol enters into force in respect of the Party by which the

certificate or

supplement was issued, shall remain valid until it expires under the terms of the Convention

or the

Protocol of 1978 relating to the Convention, as the case may be.

3 A Party to the present Protocol shall not issue certificates under, and in accordance with, the

provisions

of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as adopted on 1

November 1974.

Article III

Communication of information

The Parties to the present Protocol undertake to communicate to, and deposit with, the

Secretary-General

of the International Maritime Organization (hereinafter referred to as “ the Organization”):

(a) the text of laws, decrees, orders and regulations and other instruments which have been
promulgated on the various matters within the scope of the present Protocol;

(b) a list of nominated surveyors or recognized organizations which are authorized to act on

their behalf

in the administration of measures for safety of life at sea for circulation to the Parties for

information of their officers, and a notification of the specific responsibilities and

conditions of the authority delegated to those nominated surveyors or recognized

organizations; and

(c) a sufficient number of specimens of their certificates issued under the provision of the

present

Protocol.

Article IV

Signature, ratification, Acceptance, approval and accession

1 The present Protocol shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of the Organization from

1 March

1989 to 28 February 1990 and shall thereafter remain open for accession. Subject to the

provisions of

paragraph 3, States may express their consent to be bound by the present Protocol by:

(a) signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval; or

(b) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification,

acceptance or

approval; or

(c) accession.

3 The present Protocol may be signed without reservation, ratified, accepted, approved or

acceded to only
by States which have signed without reservation, ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to

the

Convention.

Article V

Entry into force

1 The present Protoco1 shall enter into force twelve months after the date on which both the

following

conditions have been met:

(a) not less than fifteen States, the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not less

than fifty per

cent of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping, have expressed their

consent to be bound by it in accordance with article IV, and

(b) the conditions for the entry into force of the Protocol of 1988 relating to the International

Convention

on Load Lines, 1966, have been met, provided that the present Protocol shall not enter

into force before 1 February 1992.

2 For States which have deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or

accession in

respect of the present Protocol after the conditions for entry into force thereof have been met

but prior to

the date of entry into force, the ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall take

effect on the

date of entry into force of the present Protocol or three months after the date of deposit of the

instrument, whichever is the later date.

3 Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited after the date on
which the

present Protocol enters into force shall take effect three months after the date of deposit.

4 After the date on which an amendment to the present Protocol is deemed to have been

accepted under

article VI, any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited shall

apply to the

present Protocol as amended.

Article VI

Amendments

The procedures set out in article VIII of the Convention shall apply to amendments to the

present Protocol, provided that:

(a) references in that article to the Convention and to Contracting Governments shall be taken

to mean

references to the present Protocol and to the Parties to the present Protocol respectively;

(b) amendments to the articles of the present Protocol and to the Annex thereto shall be adopted

and brought

into force in accordance with the procedure applicable to amendments to the articles of the

Convention

or to chapter I of the annex thereto; and

(c) amendments to the appendix to the annex to the present Protocol may be adopted and

brought into

force in accordance with the procedure applicable to amendments to the annex to the

Convention

other than chapter I.

Denunciation

1 The present Protocol may be denounced by any Party at any time after the expiry of five years

from the

date on which the present Protocol enters into force for that Party.

2 Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of denunciation with the

Secretary-General

of the Organization.

3 A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be specified in the

instrument of

denunciation, after its receipt by the Secretary-General of the Organization.

4 A denunciation of the Convention by a Party shall be deemed to be a denunciation of the

present

Protocol by that Party.Such denunciation shall take effect on the same date as denunciation

of the

Convention takes effect according to paragraph (c) of article XI of the Convention.

Article VIII

Depositary

1 The present Protocol shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Organization

(hereinafter

referred to as “the depositary”).

2 The depositary shall:

(a) inform the Governments of all States which have signed the present Protocol or acceded

thereto of:

(i) each new signature or deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or

together with the date thereof;

(ii) the date of entry into force of the present Protocol;

(iii) the deposit of any instrument of denunciation of the present Protocol together with the

date on

which it was received and the date on which the denunciation takes effect;

(b) transmit certified true copies of the present Protocol to the Governmentsof all States which

have

signed the present Protoco1 or acceded thereto.

3 As soon as the present Protocol enters into force, a certified true copy thereof shall be

transmitted by the

depositary to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and publication in

accordance with

Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article IX

Languages

The present Protocol is established in a single original in the Arabic, Chinese, English, French,

Russian and Spanish languages, each text being equally authentic. An official translation into

the Italian language shall be prepared and deposited with the signed original.

DONE AT LONDON this eleventh day of November one thousand nine hundred and eighty-

eight.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned*, being duly authorized by their respective

Signatures omitted.

Chapter XI-1: Special measures to enhance maritime safety

Originally, this a single chapter which entered into force on 1st January 1996. Under SOLAS

Convention, it stated requirements for:

authorization of organizations responsible for carrying out surveys and inspections on behalf

of administrations i.e. classification societies;

continuous synopsis record;

additional requirements for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents;

atmosphere testing instruments for enclosed spaces.

Chapter XI-2: Special measures to enhance maritime security

A second part of this chapter has now been created and requires ships, companies and ports to

comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

The ISPS Code contains two parts:

Part A is which is mandatory. It sets minimum regulations that ships and ports must follow.

Part B is recommendatory and contains guidance for implementation of the Code.

Under this chapter, ships and port terminals are required to have security plans containing

preventive and corrective actions against any security threats. They must set security levels at

all times and implement security duties appropriate to the level of security they operate.

Under Regulation 8 of this chapter gives the Master an overriding authority to decide and act for

the safety and security of the ship even if it’s not to the best interest of the company, charterer

or any other person.