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THECHAMBEROFSHIPPINGANNUALREVIEW2011–2012 The committee also revised and updated its


guidelines to shipping companies on HIV and AIDS. These contain information on the spread of HIV infection around the world, preventive measures, the legal implications of employing seafarers who are HIV positive and recommendations to employers on publicity and initiatives to promote the health, safety and welfare of their crew members.


to shipping companies on behavioural safety systems, as the industry’s response to Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) concerns that complacency contributed to around a quarter of marine accidents. The accompanying mini-CD includes key behavioural safety tools that can be printed and used by companies as required. The guidelines were launched at a meeting of the MCA’s Human Element Advisory Group that the Chamber hosted in May.


Negotiating the Red Tape Challenge RED TAPE CHALLENGE


The Chamber is a ‘champion’ for government’s Red Tape Challenge, sharing the desire to reduce the burden of regulation on industry. But there is a balance to be struck. To operate internationally, shipping must comply with the global standards set on by the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization. Individual countries are discouraged from establishing their own unilateral requirements, which would cause massive confusion and hinder world trade. The regulatory agenda for shipping is, therefore, largely supported by industry. What shipping regulation needs is clarity, proportionality, practicality and a true understanding of our unique sector.


Warlike operations The Warlike Operations Area Committee has continued to provide guidance to Chamber members whose ships pass through areas of the world that are plagued by piracy, most notably the Gulf of Aden and much of the Indian Ocean. The High Risk and At Risk Zone Agreement in respect of these areas, which was originally made in 2008, continues to apply. The committee has issued guidance to members concerning the deployment of armed guards onboard their ships as a means of protecting the crew members against pirate attacks. While welcoming the shipping minister’s announcement late in the year that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel onboard UK vessels would be decriminalised, the Chamber and its social partners raised a number of concerns that they believe the government should address fi rst. The committee also responded to the outbreak


of military action involving the UK in Libya, with the adoption of a Warlike Operations Area Agreement covering Libyan territorial waters. This remained in place until the action ceased and confi rmation was received that Libyan waters were clear of mines.


To minimise the burden of regulation on shipping companies, we believe that, in future, the government should:


l Enact generally accepted international regulation without embellishment (no ‘gold-plating’), except where there is a demonstrated need;


l Where practical, adopt (or ‘copy out’) the international instrument in its original state and not – as happens in the UK currently – rewrite it into English law; and


l Consolidate legislation relating to the same subject when new amendments are introduced, rather than build up a body of several regulations over time, which then have to be interpreted together.


EMPLOYMENT 21


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