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Class News No.18/2016

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21 June, 2016

Statutory Alert: IACS Recommendation for the

Operation of Shore-Based Emergency Response
Services
Applicability: All shipowners and managers

IACS has published Recommendation No.145 for the operation of shore-based

emergency response services that provide technical assistance to ship casualties by
assessing damage stability and residual longitudinal strength.
The recommendation aims to assist shipowners and managers in choosing an
emergency response service provider and achieving compliance with relevant
national and international regulations and guidelines*.
It establishes the minimum level of support that emergency response service
providers are expected to deliver, setting out goals and objectives and providing
recommendations for operation, software and ship modelling.
Key recommendations
The key recommendations from IACS are that emergency response service
providers should:
be available 24 hours a day, all year round
be available within two hours of being activated to input details of the
conditions of the ship; and within one hour for passenger ships (in accordance
with MSC.1 /Circ. 1400)
have a dedicated means of initiating a response such as an emergency phone
number
have a dedicated response facility and back-up location capable of carrying
out stability and global strength calculations at all times
have at least two team members responding to any emergency who are
qualified to undertake stability and ship strength calculations
provide team member training and carry out regular drills and exercises

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have pre-prepared ship models that are validated against the supplied ship
information
have stable and rigorously-tested software capable of calculating stability and
strength for flooding, oil outflow, grounding and time and tide
have additional 2D section modelling software.
Ship Emergency Response Service (SERS) from Lloyds Register
We can confirm that Lloyds Registers Ship Emergency Response Service (SERS)
exceeds the IACS recommendation and continues to develop to meet the needs of
its clients. SERS is the largest and most experienced emergency response service,
covering more than 3,600 vessels. Our arrangements and procedures have been
developed over 30 years and align closely not only with the IACS recommendation,
but with other industry guidelines, such as those from OCIMF (see Class News
32/2013). Our experience has also contributed to the development of this industry
guidance.
Both LR and non-LR classed vessels can enrol with SERS. For more information,
contact Wijendra Peiris on +44 33 041 40586 or at sers@lr.org
*Relevant legislation and guidelines include:
MARPOL Annex I and Oil Pollution Act (OPA 90) for oil tankers.
SOLAS Chapter II-1, Part B for passenger ships.
MSC.1/Circ. 1400 for passenger ships (see also Class News 39/2013)
OPA 90 for non-tank vessels over 400 gt. (see also Class News 04/2014)
MARPOL Annex II for chemical/oil tankers
ISM code for all ship types.

For further information

Speak to one of our experts at your local Lloyd's Register Group office
Or contact us via:
sers@lr.org

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Lloyds Register and variants of it are trading names of Lloyds Register Group Limited, its subsidiaries and
affiliates. Copyright Lloyds Register Group Limited 2016. A member of the Lloyds Register group.

http://info.lr.org/l/12702/2016-06-21/31yjh3

9/9/2016