The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is an umbrella convention concerned with many aspects of the sea and its uses, including the granting of registration of a ship by a State. Once a ship is registered, the flag State has certain duties laid out in UNCLOS. In particular, under Article 94, the flag State must “effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag” and take “such measures for ships flying its flag as are necessary to ensure safety at sea…..”
Under the auspices of the IMO, International Conventions have been agreed which set out uniform requirements in order to facilitate the acceptance of a ship registered in one country in the waters and ports of another and in the general furtherance of safety at sea and the protection of the environment. These requirements are commonly referred to as ‘statutory’ requirements. Broadly, they cover four distinct areas:
1) Aspects of the ship’s design and its structural integrity – load line and stability in the intact and damaged condition, essential propulsion, steering equipment, etc.; 2) Pollution control with regard to normal ship operation; 3) Accident prevention, including navigational aids and pollution and fire prevention; 4) The situation after an accident (fire, flooding) including containment and escape.