Resolution MSC.176(79)

2004 AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL CODE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT OF SHIPS CARRYING DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN BULK (IBC CODE)

(adopted on 10 December 2004)

 

 

THE MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE,

 

RECALLING Article 28(b) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Committee,

 

NOTING resolution MSC.4(48), by which it adopted the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (hereinafter referred to as "the IBC Code"), which has become mandatory under chapter VII of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"),

 

NOTING ALSO article VIII(b) and regulation VII/8.1 of the Convention concerning the procedure for amending the IBC Code,

 

BEING DESIROUS of keeping the IBC Code up to date,

 

HAVING CONSIDERED, at its seventy-ninth session, amendments to the IBC Code proposed and circulated in accordance with article VIII(b)(i) of the Convention,

 

CONSIDERING that it is highly desirable for the provisions of the IBC Code, which are mandatory under both the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78) and the 1974 SOLAS Convention, to remain identical,

 

1. ADOPTS, in accordance with article VIII(b)(iv) of the Convention, amendments to the IBC Code, the text of which is set out in the Annex to the present resolution;

 

2. DETERMINES, in accordance with article VIII(b)(vi)(2)(bb) of the Convention, that the amendments shall be deemed to have been accepted on 1 July 2006 unless, prior to that date, more than one third of the Contracting Governments to the Convention or Contracting Governments the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not less than 50% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant fleet, have notified their objections to the amendments;

 

3. INVITES Contracting Governments to note that, in accordance with article VIII(b)(vii)(2) of the Convention, the amendments shall enter into force on 1 January 2007 upon their acceptance in accordance with paragraph 2 above;

 

4. REQUESTS the Secretary-General, in conformity with article VIII(b)(v) of the Convention, to transmit certified copies of the present resolution and the text of the amendments contained in the Annex to all Contracting Governments to the Convention;

 

5. FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary-General to transmit copies of this resolution and its Annex to Members of the Organization, which are not Contracting Governments to the Convention.

 

2004 AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL CODE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT OF SHIPS CARRYING DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN BULK (IBC CODE)

 

The complete text of the IBC Code is replaced by the following:

 

"Preamble

 

1. The purpose of this Code is to provide an international standard for the safe carriage, in bulk by sea, of dangerous chemicals and noxious liquid substances listed in chapter 17 of the Code. The Code prescribes the design and construction standards of ships, regardless of tonnage, involved in such carriage and the equipment they shall carry to minimize the risk to the ship, its crew and the environment, having regard to the nature of the products involved.

 

2. The basic philosophy of the Code is to assign, to each chemical tanker, one of the ship types according to the degree of the hazards of the products carried by such ships. Each of the products may have one or more hazardous properties, including flammability, toxicity, corrosivity and reactivity, as well as the hazard they may present to the environment.

 

3. Throughout the development of the Code it was recognized that it must be based upon sound naval architectural and engineering principles and the best understanding available as to the hazards of the various products covered. Furthermore, chemical tanker design technology is not only a complex technology, but is rapidly evolving and therefore the Code should not remain static. Thus, the Organization will periodically review the Code, taking into account both experience and technical developments.

 

4. Amendments to the Code involving requirements for new products and their conditions of carriage will be circulated as recommendations, on an interim basis, when adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the Organization, in accordance with the provisions of article VIII of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS 74), and article 16 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78), respectively, pending the entry into force of these amendments.

 

5. The Code primarily deals with ship design and equipment. In order to ensure the safe transport of the products, the total system must, however, be appraised. Other important facets of the safe transport of the products, such as training, operation, traffic control and handling in port, are being, or will be, examined further by the Organization.

 

6. The development of the Code has been greatly assisted by a number of organizations in consultative status such as the Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

 

7. Chapter 16 of the Code, dealing with operational requirements of chemical tankers, highlights the regulations in other chapters that are operational in nature and mentions those other important safety features that are peculiar to chemical tanker operation.

 

8. The layout of the Code is in line with the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code), adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee at its forty-eighth session. Gas carriers may also carry in bulk liquid chemicals covered by this Code, as prescribed in the IGC Code.

 

9. The 1998 edition of the Code was based on the original text as adopted by MSC resolution MSC.4(48). In response to resolution 15 of the International Conference on Marine Pollution, 1973, the MEPC, at its twenty-second session, adopted, by resolution MEPC.19(22), the IBC Code extended to cover marine pollution prevention aspects for the implementation of Annex II to MARPOL 73/78.

 

10. This edition of the Code includes amendments adopted by the following resolutions:

 

 

11 As from the date of entry into force of the 1983 amendments to SOLAS 74 (i.e. 1 July 1986) and the date of implementation of Annex II of MARPOL 73/78 (i.e. 6 April 1987), this Code became subject to mandatory requirements under these Conventions. Amendments to the Code, whether from the point of view of safety or of marine pollution, must therefore be adopted and brought into force in accordance with the procedures laid down in article VIII of SOLAS 74 and article 16 of MARPOL 73/78 respectively.

 

Chapter 1.
General

1.1 Application

 

1.1.1 The Code applies to ships regardless of size, including those of less than 500 gross tonnage, engaged in the carriage of bulk cargoes of dangerous chemicals or noxious liquid substances (NLS), other than petroleum or similar flammable products as follows:

 

.1 products having significant fire hazards in excess of those of petroleum products and similar flammable products;

 

.2 products having significant hazards in addition to or other than flammability.

 

1.1.2 Products that have been reviewed and determined not to present safety and pollution hazards to such an extent as to warrant the application of the Code are found in chapter 18.

 

1.1.3 Liquids covered by the Code are those having a vapour pressure not exceeding 0.28 MPa absolute at a temperature of 37.8°C.

 

1.1.4 For the purpose of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, the Code applies to ships which are engaged in the carriage of products included in chapter 17 on the basis of their safety characteristics and identified as such by an entry of S or S/P in column d.

 

1.1.5 For the purposes of MARPOL 73/78, the Code applies only to NLS tankers, as defined in regulation 1.16.2 of Annex II thereof, which are engaged in the carriage of Noxious Liquid Substances identified as such by an entry of X, Y or Z in column c of chapter 17.

 

1.1.6 For a product proposed for carriage in bulk, but not listed in chapters 17 or 18, the Administration and port Administrations involved in such carriage shall prescribe the preliminary suitable conditions for the carriage, having regard to the criteria for hazard evaluation of bulk chemicals. For the evaluation of the pollution hazard of such a product and assignment of its pollution category, the procedure specified in regulation 6.3 of Annex II of MARPOL 73/78 must be followed. The Organization shall be notified of the conditions for consideration for inclusion of the product in the Code.

 

1.1.7 Unless expressly provided otherwise, the Code applies to ships, the keels of which are laid or which are at the stage where:

 

.1 construction identifiable with the ship begins; and

 

.2 assembly has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or 1% of the estimated mass of all structural material, whichever is less;

 

on or after 1 July 1986.

 

1.1.8 A ship, irrespective of the date of construction, which is converted to a chemical tanker on or after 1 July 1986 shall be treated as a chemical tanker constructed on the date on which such conversion commences. This conversion provision does not apply to the modification of a ship referred to in regulation 1.14 of Annex II of MARPOL 73/78.

 

1.1.9 Where reference is made in the Code to a paragraph, all the provisions of the subparagraphs of that designation shall apply.

 

1.2 Hazards

 

Hazards of products covered by the Code include:

 

1.2.1 Fire hazard, defined by flashpoint, explosive/flammability limits/range and autoignition temperature of the chemical.

 

1.2.2 Health hazard, defined by:

 

.1 corrosive effects on the skin in the liquid state; or

 

.2 acute toxic effect, taking into account values of:

 

LD₅₀ (oral): a dose, which is lethal to 50% of the test subjects when administered orally;

 

LD₅₀ (dermal): a dose, which is lethal to 50% of the test subjects when administered to the skin;

 

LC₅₀ (inhalation): the concentration which is lethal by inhalation to 50% of the test subjects; or

 

.3 Other health effects such as carcinogenicity and sensitization.

 

1.2.3 Reactivity hazard, defined by reactivity:

 

.1 with water;

 

.2 with air;

 

.3 with other products; or

 

.4 of the product itself (e.g. polymerization).

 

1.2.4 Marine pollution hazard, as defined by:

 

.1 bioaccumulation;

 

.2 lack of ready biodegradibility;

 

.3 acute toxicity to aquatic organisms;

 

.4 chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms;

 

.5 long term human health effects; and

 

.6 physical properties resulting in the product floating or sinking and so adversely affecting marine life.

 

1.3 Definitions

 

The following definitions apply unless expressly provided otherwise. (Additional definitions are given in individual chapters).

 

1.3.1 Accommodation spaces are those spaces used for public spaces, corridors, lavatories, cabins, offices, hospitals, cinemas, games and hobbies rooms, barber shops, pantries containing no cooking appliances and similar spaces. Public spaces are those portions of the accommodation spaces which are used for halls, dining rooms, lounges and similar permanently enclosed spaces.

 

1.3.2 Administration means the Government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly. For Administration (Port) see Port Administration.

 

1.3.3 Anniversary date means the day and the month of each year, which will correspond to the date of expiry of the International Certificate of Fitness for the Carriage of Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk.

 

1.3.4 Boiling point is the temperature at which a product exhibits a vapour pressure equal to the atmospheric pressure.

 

1.3.5 Breadth (B) means the maximum breadth of the ship, measured amidships to the moulded line of the frame in a ship with a metal shell and to the outer surface of the hull in a ship with a shell of any other material. The breadth (B) shall be measured in metres.

 

1.3.6 Cargo area is that part of the ship that contains cargo tanks, slop tanks, cargo pump-rooms including pump-rooms, cofferdams, ballast or void spaces adjacent to cargo tanks or slop tanks and also deck areas throughout the entire length and breadth of the part of the ship over the above-mentioned spaces. Where independent tanks are installed in hold spaces, cofferdams, ballast or void spaces at the after end of the aftermost hold space or at the forward end of the forward-most hold space are excluded from the cargo area.

 

1.3.7 Cargo pump-room is a space containing pumps and their accessories for the handling of the products covered by the Code.

 

1.3.8 Cargo service spaces are spaces within the cargo area used for workshops, lockers and store-rooms of more than 2 m2 in area, used for cargo-handling equipment.

 

1.3.9 Cargo tank is the envelope designed to contain the cargo.

 

1.3.10 Chemical tanker is a cargo ship constructed or adapted and used for the carriage in bulk of any liquid product listed in chapter 17.

 

1.3.11 Cofferdam is the isolating space between two adjacent steel bulkheads or decks. This space may be a void space or a ballast space.

 

1.3.12 Control stations are those spaces in which ship's radio or main navigating equipment or the emergency source of power is located or where the fire-recording or fire-control equipment is centralized. This does not include special fire-control equipment which can be most practically located in the cargo area.

 

1.3.13 Dangerous chemicals means any liquid chemicals designated as presenting a safety hazard, based on the safety criteria for assigning products to chapter 17.

 

1.3.14 Density is the ratio of the mass to the volume of a product, expressed in terms of kilograms per cubic metre. This applies to liquids, gases and vapours.

 

1.3.15 Explosive/flammability limits/range are the conditions defining the state of fuel-oxidant mixture at which application of an adequately strong external ignition source is only just capable of producing flammability in a given test apparatus.

 

1.3.16 Flashpoint is the temperature in degrees Celsius at which a product will give off enough flammable vapour to be ignited. Values given in the Code are those for a "closed-cup test" determined by an approved flashpoint apparatus.

 

1.3.17 Hold space is the space enclosed by the ship's structure in which an independent cargo tank is situated.

 

1.3.18 Independent means that a piping or venting system, for example, is in no way connected to another system and that there are no provisions available for the potential connection to other systems.

 

1.3.19 Length (L) means 96% of the total length on a waterline at 85% of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the foreside of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater. In ships designed with a rake of keel, the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline. The length (L) shall be measured in metres.

 

1.3.20 Machinery spaces of category A are those spaces and trunks to such spaces which contain:

 

.1 internal-combustion machinery used for main propulsion; or

 

.2 internal-combustion machinery used for purposes other than main propulsion where such machinery has in the aggregate a total power output of not less than 375 kW; or

 

.3 any oil-fired boiler or oil fuel unit or any oil fired equipment other than boilers, such as inert gas generators, incinerators etc.

 

1.3.21 Machinery spaces are all machinery spaces of category A and all other spaces containing propelling machinery, boilers, oil fuel units, steam and internal-combustion engines, generators and major electrical machinery, oil filling station, refrigerating, stabilizing, ventilation and air-conditioning machinery, and similar spaces, and trunks to such spaces.

 

1.3.22 MARPOL means the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as amended.

 

1.3.23 Noxious Liquid Substance means any substance indicated in the Pollution Category column of chapters 17 or 18 of the International Bulk Chemical Code, or the current MEPC.2/Circular or provisionally assessed under the provisions of regulation 6.3 of MARPOL Annex II as falling into categories X, Y or Z.

 

1.3.24 Oil fuel unit is the equipment used for the preparation of oil fuel for delivery to an oil-fired boiler, or equipment used for the preparation for delivery of heated oil to an internal-combustion engine, and includes any oil pressure pumps, filters and heaters dealing with oil at a gauge pressure of more than 0.18 MPa.

 

1.3.25 Organization is the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

 

1.3.26 Permeability of a space means the ratio of the volume within that space which is assumed to be occupied by water to the total volume of that space.

 

1.3.27 Port administration means the appropriate authority of the country in the port of which the ship is loading or unloading.

 

1.3.28 Products is the collective term used to cover both Noxious Liquid Substances and Dangerous Chemicals.

 

1.3.29 Pump-room is a space, located in the cargo area, containing pumps and their accessories for the handling of ballast and oil fuel.

 

1.3.30 Recognized standards are applicable international or national standards acceptable to the Administration or standards laid down and maintained by an organization which complies with the standards adopted by the Organization and which is recognized by the Administration.

 

1.3.31 Reference temperature is the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the cargo corresponds to the set pressure of the pressure-relief valve.

 

1.3.32 Separate means that a cargo piping system or cargo vent system, for example, is not connected to another cargo piping or cargo vent system.

 

1.3.33 Service spaces are those spaces used for galleys, pantries containing cooking appliances, lockers, mail and specie rooms, store-rooms, workshops other than those forming part of the machinery spaces and similar spaces and trunks to such spaces.

 

1.3.34 SOLAS means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended.

 

1.3.35 Vapour pressure is the equilibrium pressure of the saturated vapour above a liquid expressed in Pascals (Pa) at a specified temperature.

 

1.3.36 Void space is an enclosed space in the cargo area external to a cargo tank, other than a hold space, ballast space, oil fuel tank, cargo pump-room, pump-room, or any space in normal use by personnel.

 

1.4 Equivalents

 

1.4.1 Where the Code requires that a particular fitting, material, appliance, apparatus, item of equipment or type thereof shall be fitted or carried in a ship, or that any particular provision shall be made, or any procedure or arrangement shall be complied with, the Administration may allow any other fitting, material, appliance, apparatus, item of equipment or type thereof to be fitted or carried, or any other provision, procedure or arrangement to be made in that ship, if it is satisfied by trial thereof or otherwise that such fitting, material, appliance, apparatus, item of equipment or type thereof or that any particular provision, procedure or arrangement is at least as effective as that required by the Code. However, the Administration may not allow operational methods or procedures to be made an alternative to a particular fitting, material, appliance, apparatus, item of equipment, or type thereof, which are prescribed by the Code, unless such substitution is specifically allowed by the Code.

 

1.4.2 When the Administration allows any fitting, material, appliance, apparatus, item of equipment, or type thereof, or