Australia: The National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC) last week reminded the Australian marine industry that the next raft of national standards for commercial vessels enters legislation nationally on October 1 this year through an amendment to the USL Code (Amendment 7).
This round of reform will see six sections of the National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) come into force for new vessels.
The relevant standards are:
A seventh section, Operational Practices (NSCV Part E), will apply to new and existing vessels. However, the new requirements will become compulsory for certain high-risk vessels only.
NMSC's CEO Margie O'Tarpey explained that the USL Code was widely, although not universally, implemented by state, territory and commonwealth marine safety agencies as the standard for commercial vessels.
"This amendment provides a convenient way to replace the old USL requirements – developed nearly 30 years ago, with a much more modern and flexible set of standards," Ms O'Tarpey said.
"NMSC's charter is very much about achieving nationally uniform marine safety standards so each raft of standards adopted into law around the nation is a significant step towards reaching that goal".
For those jurisdictions that currently allow vessels to comply with the USL Code, a new vessel which submits an application prior to October 1, 2009 can be built to these existing requirements, provided construction work begins within a three-year period. However, design approvals submitted after October 1, 2009 must comply with the new standards.
"This allows a transitional period for vessel builders over the next couple of months," Ms O'Tarpey said.