LESSON 5. IMO’s CONVENTION
NEW WORDS AND WORD COMBINATIONS
| to serve to improve to avoid peril regulation to establish to adopt body to devote to enter into force prevention pollution objectives to sum up to carry out concerning collision strictly obeyed to impose liability non-compliance violation consequence vital mankind poisonous substance observance uninhabitable harmful staff vegetation penalty amendment | служить улучшать избегать опасность, риск свод правил устанавливать, учреждать принимать орган просвещать вступать в силу предотвращение загрязнение цели суммировать выполнять касающийся столкновение строго соблюдающийся облагать ответственность невыполнение нарушение последствие жизненный человечество отравляющий, ядовитый вещество соблюдение непригодный для жизни вредный служащие, персонал растительность штраф, наказание поправка, исправление |
READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT
IMO’s CONVENTION
Shipping is perhaps the most international of the world’s industries, serving more than 90 per cent of global trade by carrying huge quantities of cargo cost effectively, cleanly and safely.
It has always been recognized that the best way of improving safety at sea and to avoid any perils and accidents is by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations.
In 1948 the Organization of United Nations adopted a convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the first ever international body devoted exclusively to maritime matters. The original name was the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (or IMCO), but the name was changed in 1982 to IMO. The IMO Convention entered into force in 1958.
From the very beginning, the improvement of maritime safety and the prevention of marine pollution have been IMO’s most important objectives. In the early 2000s, maritime security became another major focus for the Organization. The overall objectives are summed up in the IMO slogan: “safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans”.
The Organization currently has 170 Member States and three Associate Members. Its governing body, the Assembly, meets once every two years. IMO is a technical organization and most of its work is carried out in a number of committees and sub-committees. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is the most senior of these. IMO has promoted the adoption of some 50 conventions and protocols and adopted more than 1,000 codes and recommendations concerning maritime safety and security, the prevention of pollution and related matters.
Such documents as International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, International Convention on Preventing Pollution at Sea, International Regulations for Safety of Life at Sea and others are well known to all the mariners and shall be strictly obeyed in practical navigation. All these regulations impose liability on shipping companies, the vessels and their crews for non-compliance of the rules.
Much attention is paid now to preventing pollution at sea, as its consequences may threaten the vitally important problems of the mankind. The coast and coastal waters polluted with oil or poisonous substance may become uninhabitable or harmful not only for men, but for fish, birds, animals and other living creatures as well as vegetation.
Under Convention the countries, members of IMO, undertake to see to the effective execution of the rules. To control the strict observance of the Regulations special organizations have been established. The staff of these organizations is entitled to investigate the cause of pollution, to inspect the equipment aboard vessels and to impose a penalty for the violation of the Regulations.
Notes:
scope – границы, рамки, пределы;
collision – столкновение.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:1. What part does shipping take place in world industry? 2. What is the best way of improving the safety at sea? 3. When was IMO established? 4. When did the convention come into force? 5. What are the objectives of IMO convention? 6. List some of the documents of IMO. 7. Why is so much attention paid to prevention pollution at sea? 8. What is staff of IMO entitled to do?
VOCABULARY EXERCISES
Exercise I. a) Find English equivalents in the text: чтобы избежать возможного риска и несчастных случаев; столкнуться с проблемой; защищать морскую среду; обязательный закон; должны строго соблюдаться; налагать ответственность; нарушение правил; предотвратить загрязнение моря; жизненно важные проблемы человечества; прибрежные воды; заражены нефтью и отравляющими веществами; непригодный для жизни живых существ и растений; эффективное выполнение законов; уполномочен расследовать причины загрязнения; проверять бортовое оборудование; облагать штрафом; рыболовные компании.
b) Give Russian equivalents using words of the unit: to improve operation of machinery; to avoid collision; to establish rules; to prevent pollution from oil; carried out regulation; poisonous substance; to impose severe penalty; observance of the rules; to sum up everything you know.
Exercise II.According to the text decide which statement is true or false?
1. Shipping is not the most international of the world’s industries.
2. The best way to avoid any perils and accidents at sea is to have navigation equipment in good condition.
3. The IMO Convention came into force in 1948.
4. The original name wasn’t the International Maritime Organization.
5. Improvement of maritime safety, prevention of marine pollution and maritime security are the most important objectives of the IMO.
6. IMO’s documents should be known to the Masters of all ships.
7. Special organizations have been established to control the strict observance of the Regulations.
8. The staff of the organization investigates the cause of pollution but never imposes a penalty for the violation of the Rules.
Exercise III.Translate into English:
1. Последствия загрязнения моря могут угрожать жизни людей, рыб, птиц, животных и других существ. 2. За нарушение правил на рыболовные компании, суда и их команду налагаются штрафы. 3. Для защиты окружающей среды учреждён комитет. 4. Специальные организации учреждены для контроля за строгим соблюдением правил. 5. Организация Объединенных Наций вынуждена решать большое количество проблем. 6. Сегодня более 100 стран являются членами этой организации. 7. Экипаж должен избегать разлива нефти (spillage). 8. Все члены экипажа соблюдают правила.
Exercise IV.Match the abbreviation with its meaning.
| 1. Maritime Safety Committee 2. The Marine Environment Protection Committee 3. Safety of Navigation 4. Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue 5. Standards of Training and Watchkeeping 6. Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers 7. Ship Design and Equipment 8. Fire Protection 9. Stability and Load Lines and Fishing Vessels Safety 10. Flag State Implementation 11. Bulk Liquids and Gases | a. DE b. BLG c. MSC d. FSI e. MEPC f. FP g. NAV h. COMSAR i. STW j. DSC k. SLF |
Exercise V.Match the Title of the Committee with the function it performs.
| Legal Committee | is responsible for IMO’s activities and functions relating to the facilitation of international maritime traffic. These are aimed at reducing the formalities and simplifying the documentation required of ships when entering or leaving ports or other terminals. |
| The Technical Co-operation Committee | is concerned with prevention and control of pollution from ships. In particular it is concerned with the adoption and amendment of conventions and other regulations and measures to ensure their enforcement. |
| The Facilitation Committee | is responsible for considering any legal matters within the scope (границы, рамки, пределы) of the Organization. |
| The Marine Environment Protection Committee | is concerned with aids to navigation, construction and equipment of vessels, manning from a safety standpoint, rules for the prevention of collisions, handling of dangerous cargoes, maritime safety procedures and requirements, hydrographic information, log-books and navigational records, marine casualty investigations, salvage and rescue and any other matters directly affecting maritime safety. |
| Maritime Safety Committee | is responsible for coordinating the work of the Organization in the provision of technical assistance in the maritime field, in particular to developing countries. |
Notes:
salvage [´sælvıdʒ] – спасение имущества (при кораблекрушении или пожаре);
to salvage – спасать (судно, имущество при кораблекрушении, пожаре и т. п.), избавлять;
rescue – спасение (жизни);
to rescue – спасать, избавлять.
GRAMMAR EXERCISES
Exercise I.Read about the most important IMO’s Conventions. Explain the form of the verbs in italics.
SOLAS – The first conference organized by IMO in 1960 was concerned with maritime safety. That conference adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea. The SOLAS Convention covered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping. They included subdivision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection and extinction; life-saving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships. IMO adopted a new version of SOLAS in 1974. Other safety-related conventions adopted by IMO include the International Convention on Load Lines; the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships; the Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) which made traffic separation schemes adopted by IMO mandatory and considerably reduced the number of collisions in many areas; and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue.
MARPOL– In 1973 the first ever comprehensive anti-pollution convention the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships was adopted. The MARPOL Convention deals not only with pollution by oil, but also pollution from chemicals, other harmful substances, garbage and sewage. It greatly reduces the amount of oil which may be discharged into the sea by ships, and bans (запрещать) such discharges completely in certain areas. The most important and far reaching of these is the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code.
INMARSAT – In 1976 IMO adopted the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) and its Operating Agreement. The Convention came into force in July 1979 and later resulted in the establishment of the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO).
ISM Code – Statistics say that about 80% of all shipping accidents are caused by people. The ISM Code provides tools to prevent accidents, injures, and pollution caused by poor management and human mistakes. Objectives of the ISM Code are to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury of life, and avoidance of damage to the environment.
Exercise II.Read principal recommendations and codes adopted by IMO over the years. Translate paying attention to N1+N2.
1. International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. 2. Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes. 3. International Code of Signals. 4. Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk. 5. Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes. 6. Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels. 7. Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk. 8. International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures. 9. Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units. 10. Code on Noise Levels on Board Ships. 11. Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships. 12. Code of Safety for Special-Purpose Ships.
13. International Gas Carrier Code. 14. International Bulk Chemicals Code.
15. Code of Safety for Diving Systems. 16. International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk. 17. International Safety Management Code. 18. International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft. 19. Life-Saving Appliance Code.
Exercise III.Find the meaning of following verbs (Приложение A) and make up 5 your own sentences using them.
To be in charge, to be busy with, to be responsible for, to carry out, to refer to, to rely on, to influence, to impact on, to face with, to find out, to follow.
Exercise IV.Sum up all information you have learnt from the text and exercises and tell about IMO Convention.