Page 53: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2005)

June 2005 53 plies with their own rules? Some IMO voices say absolutely not; class cannot both establish detailed codes and verify their compliance with functional requirements and goals.

The only other extant stakeholders even remotely qualified for this task are flag states, and then only a few have the necessary skills and expertise. Most rely on classification societies to discharge their international duties. Moreover, flag states are not organized as a group to perform such a task in any event.

Another possibility is that the

International Association of

Classification Societies ("IACS"), as a body distinct from its members, could undertake the verification task. IACS has just completed a lengthy project of formulating common structural rules for tankers and bulk carriers, a most worth- while and positive step for the entire industry. The process has considered both prescriptive and risk-based methodologies. IACS' efforts have been transparent and closely followed and will surely serve as a guide to MSC's further efforts with GBS.

Related to the question of who will perform the verification tasks is the question of coordinating the evolution of GBS with existing agencies. In par- ticular, the European Union and its

European Maritime Safety Agency ("EMSA") established after the ERIKA casualty. The EU's objectives in estab- lishing EMSA are almost identical to

IMO's mission statement at the outset of this article. In order for IMO's GBS effort to have any hope of success, it will need the full support and coopera- tion of all organizations and agencies with overlapping jurisdictions. It is sure- ly a positive development that the

Working Group chair is from the U.S.

Coast Guard.

It will also be most important that risk- based methodologies be incorporated into GBS development as soon as prac- ticable. There is a tendency in approach- ing an ambitious project like this to sim- ply restate what has gone before, because it is familiar. The outcome of the next MSC meeting in December will better reveal the direction that IMO and

MSC will follow.

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William N. France is a senior part- ner of Healy & Baillie, LLP, a New

York law firm with a focus in mar- itime law, as well as a licensed pro- fessional engineer with a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.

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