15^th TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP
Santiago de Chile, April 19 - 23,1999

TPT/WG/15/SE/SC/4a

 Third Meeting of Steering Committee on
Safe and Environment-Friendly Transportation Systems

 Consideration of new project proposal
 To Identify Optimum Maritime Administrative
Structure and Legal Framework for Safer
Shipping in the APEC Region

KOREA

This is an application for funding under the [ X] Operational Account
                                                          [    ] TILF Special Account

A. PROJECT DESIGN

PROJECT

02. Transportation Working Group will take responsibility for the project and the dissemination of its results.

Objectives

To provide choices for APEC Economies to improve the effectiveness of their maritime safety and marine environment protection agencies thereby minimising the risk posed by substandard ships in the APEC region by :

• Providing a comparison of the various organizational structures used by maritime administrations in APEC Economies including financial(including revenue base), legal and constitutional arrangements, personnel structure(qualifications and competencies of staff), functional as well as geographical responsibilities, and industry consultative arrangements.

• Providing a comparison of the various legal frameworks and methods used by APEC Economies to implement international maritime treaties into domestic law.

• To provide options for the optimum maritime safety administrative organizational structure, including advantages and disadvantages for each option

• To provide options for the optimum legal framework for implementing international conventions in the most effective manner.

Justification

Efforts in recent years to improve maritime safety and marine environment protection have mainly concentrated on regulating vessel management, vessel operations, vessel safety and improving the training and qualification requirements for seafarers. This has been achieved through the implementation of the International Safety Management Code(ISM Code) which entered into force on 1 July 1998 and the revised International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping(STCW 95)which entered into force on 1 January 1998.

Little attention has been given to how effectively governmental agencies fulfil their flag or port State responsibilities particularly in relation to how effective their administrative arrangements are and the means by which they introduce international treaties into domestic law.

This project will examine the various organizational structures, administrative arrangements and methods of work used by APEC Economies as well as their means of implementing international treaties into domestic law. The second phase of the project will provide a range of options which APEC Economies may wish to consider in more depth to assess their suitability for improving the effectiveness of their maritime safety administrative and organizational arrangements.

04. Eligibleness for APEC Projects

APEC Leaders

The purpose of this project is to promote a close cooperation between the APEC member economies by sharing the information on the maritime safety administrative system of each member economy and to identify optimum administrative system for the maritime safety. This reflects the subject of discussion adopted in the Summit Meeting in Canada on November 25, 1997, in which for the continuous economic growth of the countries in Asia-Pacific region, the trade and investment liberalization, facilitation, economic and technical cooperation had been reconfirmed and the common efforts to cope with an accident had been emphasized. And also the Osaka Action Agenda on November 19, 1995 to seek a cooperative program in various fields of the industry in Asia-Pacific region is reflected in the project proposal.

Moreover, the contribution to the protection and improvement of maritime safety and marine environments through this project could be regarded as the directive implementation of the agreement adopted at the Summit Meeting in Philippine on November 25, 1996 to develop a continuous program for keeping marine environments in Asia-Pacific region.

APEC Transportation Ministers

This project is consistent with the second APEC Transportation Ministers meeting held in June 1997 which emphasized that high priority of the Transportation Working Group should be given to the transportation safety in APEC region and that the environmentally sustainable transportation is important to improve the quality of life for people in the region.

APEC Transportation Working Group

The study on the effectiveness of maritime safety administrative system is essential to the economic development of Asia-Pacific region and important to promote the efficiency of transportation system of the region. In case of the maritime transportation field, this study reflects the ministerial direction to the Transportation Working Group in 1997, which emphasized to create a competitive and safe maritime transportation environment.

Transportation Ministers directed the TPT WG to "establish an Experts Group on Maritime Safety to address maritime safety concerning in the Region" and urged "economies to work closely with international organizations having competence in the field, such as the IMO, to develop programs and mechanisms to promote the implementation of and compliance with existing international rules and standards adopted by these organizations."

Experts Group on Maritime Safety

The subject of this project was discussed in the meeting of the Expert Group on Maritime Safety. The commitment was a presentation of proposal to ascertain the problem in maritime safety, evaluation of its priority, search for the system and plan which is under progress in relation with the safety, search for the administrative organization and system related to maritime safety of the member economies and promotion of maritime safety. The proposal was expected to address the translation of internationally agreed maritime safety instruments into a national framework.

05.

This project is to prepare a foundation capable of coping with the positive and efficient measures to keep the maritime safety through the comparative analysis of the administrative system for maritime safety of APEC member economies to have the member economies be established with more eligible and improved administrative organization for the maritime safety according to the characteristics of each member economy, which will contribute to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the result.

06. Organization to be benefited

The output of this project can be utilized as a referential guide line for the decision making of maritime safety policy by comparing the planning board and administrative system for the maritime safety of the government with those of other member economies in the point of efficiency and safety of the administrative system.

Also the implementation of this project will contribute for the continuous development of APEC member economies and the establishment of mutual information exchanging and technical cooperation approach among the member economies, which is consistent with the APEC's goal.

Meanwhile the business/private sector and non-governmental institutions such as the shipowner, shipper, underwriter and etc. will be benefited from the following effects as well as the policy planning organization through the establishment of an organic cooperative relations between the member economies;

• government of member economy : through the introduction of efficient system of foreign countries, the improvement of administrative organization for maritime safety of his nation and effective restructuring of the organization and planning of policy and effective national implementation of conventions could be achieved, and also the operational procedures for the maritime safety system of other member economies can be established which is essential to cope with a marine accident jointly;

• shipowner : to prevent unnecessary expenses of the shipowner caused by delay or a lack in information in the port State. Also to reduce non-economic burden through the creation of equitable and competitive environment for maritime transportation between the member economies by reducing "sub-standard shipping";

• shipper : as the shipper will be able to have full understandings of the maritime administrative information of relevant member economies at the time of import and export, the reliability on the sea transportation service could be increased, and which results in the promotion of trade between the member economies;

• underwriter : through the establishment of efficient maritime safety administrative system, marine casualty will be decreased and the extent of damage will be also reduced by the improvement of response system in case of an accident which will reduce the responsible burden of the underwriter in the result;

• other organizations related : the establishment of rapid confirmatory system for the changed information of APEC member economies can give other organizations related to the efficiency of service.

Non-governmental Sector

The questionary research to have full understandings of the maritime safety administration and the lawmaking infrastructure and procedures of member economies is a major part of the implementation of this project and a positive participation and concerns of many governments and business/private sectors of the APEC member economies are required to implement this project successfully. Therefore, the questionnaire and consultation by relevant persons of the maritime safety administration in APEC region, especially Australia, Canada and other members showing deep interest and concern on this project, will be invited to participate in the implementation of this project. And at the same time the invitation of the questionnaire and consultation by the relevant organization in charge of the establishment of international maritime safety policy such as the International Maritime Organization(IMO) and the Maritime Transportation Committee of OECD and etc. will be also carried out during the implementation.

The questionnaire and consultation will be invited to relevant parties, e.g., the shipowner, and the government drafting the policy so as to have the output of this project contribute to APEC's goal of a competitive maritime transportation environment through the market approach and investment based on the efficiency, safety and equity.

08. Promotion Plan for APEC's Value

This project will contribute to the implementation of commitment discussed at the meeting of Expert Group on Maritime Safety in 1997 for the improvement of efficiency of the maritime transportation behavior, reduction of unnecessary systematic control, expansion of the transparency in the administrative procedures and government subsidy for maritime transportation and implementation of the international conventions related to the marine safety and marine environment protection, and finally it will be a foundation for the establishment of reliance and the avenues for beefing up bilateral collaboration between APEC member economies.

And also the investigation on raising up the efficiency of maritime safety administrative system is a new field of This project not dealt in the previous study of Seafarer's Training Plan (Indonesia) and Study on the Cooperation for Oil Pollution Combat by Each APEC Member Economy (Philippines) and this approach will contribute to the establishment of administrative system in the filed of maritime safety to seek a common development of APEC member economies.

09. The Way of Contribution to Relevant APEC Projects and Activities

This project has the same goal with the Experts Group on Maritime Safety for the improvement of maritime safety and will be a foundation to achieve the efficiency, simplification and harmony between every transportation system. And the proposal of the most efficient maritime safety administrative system will be expected through the comparative research between the maritime safety administrative systems of the APEC member economies. Meanwhile, this will be helpful to the establishment of close cooperative interrelationship of the maritime safety service between member economies through the work shop and training program in the course of the project and it will contribute to the maintenance of maritime safety which is the common concerns of the member economies through the mutual support and information exchange.

10. Feasibility of the Project and Method to meet the Needs of Beneficiaries

As this project will investigate the current maritime administrative organization and its role and the efforts of APEC member economies to improve the administrative service through their changing of task assignment and comparative analysis will be carried out on the focus of presenting an efficient case, this project shall be implemented through more increased cooperation between the administrative planning organization of each member economy. Also the output could be utilized to seek an efficient administrative system for the maritime safety as an important data, because each member economy can examine various cases of those in other member economies.

The project shall be conducted in the means of a survey and collecting the opinion on the interview and under the procedures of confirmation and verification so as to meet the needs of the targeted beneficiaries.

11. Methodology

• To analyze the work implemented by IMO, OECD, Tokyo MOU for the maritime safety and the scope of maritime safety administration shall be defined;

• To analyze the questionnaire which had been used for the maritime safety administration by the government of Canada.

• To draw up the questionnaire to have full understandings of the realities of maritime safety administration of APEC member economies and the questionnaire shall be drawn up to find out the following matters;

• the function of maritime safety administration and the extent of concentration of the responsibility such as the improvement of seafarer's quality, safety of vessel, maritime safety facility, and etc.;

• the cultivation and disposition of the expert on maritime safety administrative organization;

• the extent of priority for the function of maritime safety;

• the extent of independency and specialization of the implementing organization for the maritime safety function;

• the extent of continuous securing of the budget for the organization to perform the maritime safety function;

• the extent of consistency and efficiency of the maritime safety policy such as the analysis of the realities of maritime safety, establishment and enforcement of the preventive measures for marine casualty, countermeasures for marine accidents, analysis of the cause of marine accidents, amendment of the policy and etc.

• To distribute the questionnaire to APEC member economies and relevant international organizations such as IMO, Maritime Transportation Committee of OECD and etc. and collect them for the comparative analysis and examination.

• To analyze the efficiency and priority of the policy of the maritime safety administration. Interviews and consultation will be invited to the personnels in charge of the administration if necessary and the questionnaire for the efficiency and priority of the policy of the maritime safety administration shall be supplemented;

• The factor of the efficiency and priority of the policy on maritime safety administration will be identified and the cause will be analyzed;

• An efficient maritime safety administration system, e.g., various organization and structures, considering the following matters will be proposed. The factors drawn out for securing the efficient and priority of maritime safety administration;

  • general information and new strategy proposed in questionnaire;

  • extent of volition capable of accepting it under the existing maritime safety administration system; and

  • extent of capability to accept it under the existing maritime safety administration system.

• Economies will be advised on the steps taken to improve their maritime safety administration

• The output of this project will be distributed to APEC member economies and Maritime Transport Committee of OECD to seek an inquiry.

• The final output shall be submitted to TPT-WG.

12. Components of the Project

• Status of the function, organization and legal framework, method of introducing new laws and amendment of the maritime safety administration

• Function of the maritime safety administration and the extent of concentration of the responsibility such as the improvement of seafarer's quality, safety of vessel, maritime safety facility, and etc.;

• Status of the cultivation and disposition of the expert on maritime safety in the maritime safety administrative organization;

• Status of the specialization and independency of the organization for the implementation of maritime safety function;

• Extent of the political priority of the maritime safety function;

• Extent of continuous securing of the budget for the organization to perform the maritime safety function;

• Extent of consistency and efficiency of the maritime safety policy such as the analysis of the realities of maritime safety, establishment and enforcement of the preventive measures for marine casualty, countermeasures for marine accident, analysis of the cause of marine accident, amendment of the policy and etc.

• Factors of securing the efficiency and political priority and causes;

• Development of efficient maritime safety administration; and

• Strategy for the implementation of efficient maritime safety administration.

13. Implementation Schedule by Each Component

14. Project Management

Korea would oversee the project with assistance provided by Australia, Canada, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Philippines as cosponsors. A Steering committee, in conjunction with the APEC Secretariat, would prepare an RFP and select a consultant.

15. Budget by Each Component

16. Advances and Instalment Payments

17. Publication and Dissemination Plan

a. Characteristics of the major readers : The output of this project will benefit all of the administrative organization, port state, business and private party of APEC member economies. As these organizations and parties affect the maritime safety directly, they are in responsible for the ensuring of maritime safety and shall be the major party to put an effort.

b. Style and content : All of the content of the final report shall be published in a hard copy elrectronically and by putting it on the Home page of the TPT-WG. Information to be searched through internet.

c. Format (book, diskette, internet and etc.) :see b above

d. Accessibility to the project output by target audience : The readers can access easily to the project output as it will be published in a scientific journal, and reproduced on the internet.

f. Public Relations Plan :

- Briefing on the major components of the project in general and special press media: To be a news item on Asian Shipping of Asia Trade Journal, Fairplay of Fairplay Publication, Lloyd's List Maritime Asia of Lloyd's of London Press and etc.

- Promotion of the sale and diffusion : advertisement on major international publications and scientific journal.

This page was last updated on 12 March, 2008