Including adopted amendments entering into force on or after 1 November 2024, requirements which have entered force but are phasing in for some ships, and significant developments up to and including the Marine Environment and Protection Committee (MEPC 82) in October 2024.
Summary of major developments
New approvals or adoptions
- Adopted – Amendments to the LSA Code – single fall and hook systems with on-load release capability
- Adopted – Amendments to the LSA Code to address the in-water performance of SOLAS adult lifejackets
- Adopted – Amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2/20 – Fire safety on ships fitted with vehicle, special category, open and closed ro-ro spaces and weather decks intended for the carriage of vehicles
- Adopted – Amendments to SOLAS Regulation II-2/7.5.5 – Fire protection of control stations and cargo control rooms on new cargo ships
- Adopted – Amendments to the IGF Code – 2026
- Adopted – Amendments 42-24 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code
- Adopted – Amendments to the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (MSC.23(59)) – loading conditions
- Adopted – Amendments to SOLAS V/31 and V/32, and to Protocol I of MARPOL Article V – Reporting on the loss of containers
- Adopted – Amendments to the STCW Code – Prevention and response to violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault
- Adopted – Amendments to the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code- Launching appliances using falls and a winch
- Adopted – Amendments to the Fire Safety Systems (FSS) Code – fire safety on Ro-Ro passenger ships (Chapter 7 amendments) and all ships (Chapter 9 amendments)
- Adopted – Amendments to the resolution MSC.402(96) – Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gear
- Adopted – Revised annex to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (STCW-F)
- Adopted – Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F) Code
- Adopted – Amendments to SOLAS regulation II-2/4 related to oil fuel parameters other than flashpoint
- Adopted – Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI establishing the Canadian Arctic Emission Control Area (ECA) for nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and particulate matter
- Adopted – Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI establishing the Norwegian Sea Emission Control Area (ECA) for nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and particulate matter
- Adopted – Amendments to SOLAS – New Regulation II-1/3-4.2 – Emergency towing arrangements for new ships, other than tankers, of 20,000GT and over
- Approval of – Draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code on the use of multiple engine operational profiles for a marine diesel engine
- Approval of – Draft amendments to the NOx Technical Code with regard to re-certification procedures of existing engines
- Approval of – Draft amendment to IGC Code – paragraph 16.9 – Alternative fuels and technologies – on the possibility to use toxic cargo as fuel if accepted by the Administration
- Approval of – Draft amendments to the IGF Code – Various amendments
Significant new items being considered or milestones in ongoing development
- A basket of candidate GHG Mid-Term Measures is being considered
- Review of the Short-Term Reduction Measure (CII and EEXI)
- Development of a safety regulatory framework to support the reduction of GHG emissions from ships using new technologies and alternative fuels
- The Cape Town Agreement has reached the entry-into-force threshold for the number of ratifying States, but hasn’t yet reached the aggregate number of fishing vessels threshold
- Proposed amendments to the Ballast Water Management Convention
- The review of the STCW Convention
- Development of amendments to SOLAS chapter II-2 and the FSS Code concerning detection and control of fires in cargo holds and on the cargo deck of containerships
- Development of a goal-based instrument for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS)
Source: Lloyd’s Register
