RECALLING Article 28(b) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the function of the Committee,
NOTING with concern that, despite the best endeavours of
the Organization, casualties and incidents resulting in loss of life,
loss of ships and pollution of the marine environment continue to
occur,
NOTING ALSO that the safety of seafarers and passengers
and the protection of the marine environment can be enhanced by timely
and accurate reports identifying the circumstances and causes of marine
casualties and incidents,
NOTING FURTHER the importance of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, and
of the customary international law of the sea,
NOTING IN ADDITION the responsibilities of flag States under
the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life
at Sea, 1974 (regulation I/21) (hereinafter
referred to as “the Convention”), the International Convention
on Load Lines, 1966 (article 23) and
the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships, 1973 (article 12), to
conduct casualty investigations and to supply the Organization with
relevant findings,
CONSIDERING the need to ensure that all very serious marine
casualties are investigated,
CONSIDERING ALSO the Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers
in the event of a maritime accident (resolution
A.987(24)),
ACKNOWLEDGING that the investigation and proper analysis
of marine casualties and incidents can lead to greater awareness of
casualty causation and result in remedial measures, including better
training, for the purpose of enhancing safety of life at sea and protection
of the marine environment,
RECOGNIZING the need for a code to provide, as far as national
laws allow, a standard approach to marine casualty and incident investigation
with the objective of preventing marine casualties and incidents in
the future,
RECOGNIZING ALSO the international nature of shipping and
the need for co-operation between Governments having a substantial
interest in a marine casualty or incident for the purpose of determining
the circumstances and causes thereof,
NOTING resolution MSC.257(84) by
which it adopted amendments to chapter XI-1 of
the Convention to make parts I and II of the Code of the International
Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into
a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident mandatory under the Convention,
HAVING CONSIDERED, at its eighty-fourth session, the text
of the proposed Casualty Investigation Code,
1. ADOPTS the Code of the International Standards
and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine
Casualty or Marine Incident (Casualty Investigation Code), set out
in the Annex to the present resolution;
2. INVITES Contracting Governments to the Convention
to note that the Code will take effect on 1 January 2010 upon entry
into force of the amendments to regulation XI-1/6 of the Convention;
3. REQUESTS the Secretary-General of the Organization
to transmit certified copies of the present resolution and the text
of the Code contained in the Annex to all Contracting Governments
to the Convention;
4. FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary-General of the
Organization to transmit copies of the present resolution and the
text of the Code contained in the Annex to all Members of the Organization
which are not Contracting Governments to the Convention.