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Persons Rescued at Sea (Jakarta, 18 to 20 March 2013)

Persons Rescued at Sea (Jakarta, 18 to 20 March 2013). Hartmut Hesse Senior Adviser to the SASG Office of the Secretary-General International Maritime Organizatio n hhesse@imo.org www.imo.org. -1-. Shipmaster’s obligation to render assistance at sea.

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Persons Rescued at Sea (Jakarta, 18 to 20 March 2013)

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  1. Persons Rescued at Sea(Jakarta, 18 to 20 March 2013) Hartmut Hesse Senior Adviser to the SASG Office of the Secretary-General International Maritime Organization hhesse@imo.org www.imo.org -1-

  2. Shipmaster’s obligation to render assistance at sea • Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS) …”Every State shall require the master of a ship flying its flag, in so far as he can do so without serious danger to the ship, the crew, or the passengers ... to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost …”

  3. UNCLOS • Article 98 also imposes an obligation on States to “promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of an adequate and effective search and rescue service regarding safety on and over the sea …”.

  4. (SOLAS) Convention regulation V/33.1 • provides that the “master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance, on receiving information from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that the ship is doing so.”

  5. SOLAS 1974 Parties … • “to ensure that necessary arrangements are made for distress communication and coordination in their area of responsibility and for the rescue of persons in distress at sea around its coasts. These arrangements shall include the establishment, operation and maintenance of such search and rescue facilities as are deemed practicable and necessary…..".

  6. International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue 1979 • to develop an international SAR plan, so that, no matter where an accident occurs, the rescue of persons in distress at sea will be co-ordinated by a SAR organization and, when necessary, by co-operation between neighbouring SAR organizations

  7. BACKGROUND Container ship Tampa off Australia in August 2001 Resolution A.920(22) on the review of safety measures and procedures for the treatment of persons rescued at sea (2001) Inter-Agency Initiative Amendments to SOLAS and SAR Conventions: SOLAS regulation V/33 and SAR Chapters 2, 3 & 4 respectively (2004) Entry into force 1 July 2006 -2-

  8. SOLAS / SAR Convention Amdts • Amendments to the SOLAS and SAR conventions aiming at complementing the obligation of the master to render assistance by a corresponding obligation of IMO Member Governments to co‑ordinate and co‑operate in relieving the master of the responsibility to provide follow up care of survivors and to deliver the persons retrieved at sea to a place of safety • the intent of the amendments are to ensure that in every case a place of safety is provided within a reasonable time and with a minimum deviation • contained in MSC Resolutions 153 (78) and 155(78)

  9. BACKGROUND -3-

  10. Guidelines Associated guidelines, contained in resolutionMSC.167(78) Governments should coordinate and co‑operate to ensure that masters of ships providing assistance by embarking persons in distress at sea are released from their obligations with minimum further delay and deviation from the ship’s intended voyage Ensure that in every case a place of safety is provided within a reasonable time Primary responsibility to provide a place of safety, or to ensure that a place of safety is provided, falls on the Government responsible for the SRR -4-

  11. -5-

  12. Activities by IMO IMO Inter-agency initiative: cooperation with UNHCR and other relevant entities: periodical meetings and development of guidance leaflet on Rescue at Sea Recent years: increased problems particularly in Mediterranean sea (Malta, Italy and Spain) - involvement of different IMO bodies (MSC, FAL, LEG, COMSAR, FSI) March 2010: Secretary General initiative to promote regional MoU - idea of generating a pilot scheme to be extended to other areas -6-

  13. Regional MoU on procedures relating to the disembarkation of persons rescued at sea Three meetings of initial consultation group: July 2010, April 2011 and June 2011 (Italy, Malta and Spain) Meeting, Rome, October 2011, attended by 10 Member States in the Mediterranean Restricted to purely maritime matters, in view of IMO's primary concern for the integrity of the search and rescue system -7-

  14. Terms of Reference (1) • Take into consideration: • Response to increasing number of movement of persons by sea • Potential impact on the integrity of the SAR system, safety of life at sea, and policies of the receiving countries • Pilot scheme to be exported to other parts of the world, as appropriate -8-

  15. Terms of Reference (2) • Take into consideration (2): • Characteristics of region / prevailing weather conditions • Facilities in a port or place of safety (PPS) • Capacity of exercising control • ; -9-

  16. Terms of Reference (3) • Participants agree to: • Establish and strengthen co-operation among Parties to cope with incidents of persons rescued at sea (PRS) • Establish a system of communication • Safety of PRS is paramount • Delivery of PRS to be smoothly, without delays • Rescuing ships to be allowed to proceed to their destination • Promotion of co-operation for delivery of PRS to a PPS -10-

  17. Regional MoU on procedures relating to the disembarkation of persons rescued at sea (1) • Article 1: Definitions - Parties, SRR, RCC, SAR unit and Distress Phase • Article 2: Areas of co-operation - development of effective SAR services for respective SRR - Establishment of an effective system of communication - Safety of PRS is paramount - Delivery of PRS to PPS takes place smoothly and without delay - Rescuing ships to be allowed to proceed to their destination - Other co-operation: communication, arranging , by agreement, delivery of PRS to PPS -11-

  18. Regional MoU (2) • Article 3: Responsibilities - ensure sufficient response mechanism - RCCs prepared to act quickly, independently and decide timely - effective plans of operation for response - transfer of responsibility to RCC for SRR - coordination before / during operation - provide PPS, upon justified request, taking into account respective capacities • Article 4: Information sharing - RCCs to serve as information platforms for information exchange before / during distress phase - Promulgation of status / capacity of SAR plans & services -12-

  19. Regional MoU (3) -14- • Article 5: Disembarkation of persons rescued at sea - determination of PPS according to resolution (MSC.167(78)) - provide PPS or ensure PPS is provided which may be outside that SRR (next or nearest port) - cooperation in providing suitable PPS, as may be previously and specifically agreed with party concerned,] taking into account relevant factors, risks and circumstances - establish and communicate concerted administrative procedures (rapid, effective) - any operations as to the status of PRS to be carried out after disembarkation

  20. Regional MoU (4) -13- • Article 5: Disembarkation of persons rescued at sea - rapid decision making crucial – proper, agreed procedures - assistance, minimizing inconvenience to ships, integrity of SAR services - cooperation of all parties concerned to ensure disembarkation, vis-a-vis national requirements, persons’ basic needs and master’s preferences - particular circumstances of the case - to facilitate rapid disembarkation and processing of PRS, PPS may be nearest port possibly outside SAR if previously + specifically agreed with Party - [non-refoulement]

  21. Regional MoU (5) -15- • Articles 6 to 10: Legal and Administrative aspects of the MoU - Settlement of Disputes - Rights - Preservation of Legal Positions - Amendment and Modification - [Duration, Withdrawal and Discontinuation]

  22. Conclusions -16- • Development of Regional MoU for the Mediterranean • Support by member States in that region • Potential pilot scheme for other regions • Complementary / supplementary to Model Framework for Cooperation • Continued cooperation with UNHCR and other relevant entities

  23. Thank you! hhesse@imo.org www.imo.org -17-

  24. History of discussion at IMO • August 2001, Tampa incident off Australia • November 2001, at IMO Secretary-General initiative, 22nd IMO Assembly adopts resolution A.920(22) Review of Safety Measures and procedures for the treatment of persons rescued at sea • Secretary-General also proposed UN inter-agency mechanism among relevant UN agencies

  25. History continued • March 2002, COMSAR 6 gave initial consideration to the issue Several delegations noted that the issues involved were complex and dealt with additional issues outside the scope of the SOLAS and SAR Conventions. • July 2002, First UN Inter-Agency meeting, UNHCR, Geneva; relevant areas of competence defined

  26. History continued • May 2004, SOLAS and SAR convention amendments adopted by MSC 78, (res. MSC 153(78) and res. MSC 155(78) with associated Guidelines (res. MSC 167(78) • July 2004, Second UN Inter-Agency meeting, IMO London • July 2006, SOLAS and SAR convention Amendments enter into force

  27. History continued • 2006, joint UNHCR/IMO leaflet on Rescue at Sea developed and distributed widely • July 2006, FAL Committee established Correspondence group on Administrative procedures for disembarking persons rescued at sea • will report to FAL 35 in January 2009

  28. History continued • December 2007, Third Inter-Agency meeting UNHCR Geneva • May 2008, MSC 84 agrees to review Guidelines on the Treatment of Persons rescued at sea (res. 167(78)) and gives new work programme item to COMSAR and FSI Sub-Committees, to commence January 2009

  29. Treatment of personsrescued at sea • IMO Assembly resolution A.920(22) adopted in December 2001 • requested various IMO bodies to review selected IMO Conventions to identify any gaps, inconsistencies, ambiguities, vagueness or other inadequacies associated with the treatment of persons rescued at sea.

  30. Objectives of res. A.920(22) • to help ensure that: • .1 survivors of distress incidents are provided assistance regardless of nationality or status or the circumstances in which they are found; • .2 ships, which have retrieved persons in distress at sea, are able to deliver the survivors to a place of safety; and

  31. A.920(22) continued • .3 survivors, regardless of nationality or status, including undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and stowaways, are treated, while on board, in the manner prescribed in the relevant IMO instruments and in accordance with relevant international agreements and long-standing humanitarian maritime traditions.

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