CONTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRY TO EVOLUTION OF THE REGULATIONS - EXAMPLE OF MARITIME TRANSPORT

The lMO, ftrst established in London in 1958, is one of the UN's « front line » agencies: from the very beginning, the improvement of maritime safety and the prevention of marine pollution have been IMO's most important objectives. It consists of 152 Members States and most of its work is carried out in a number of committees and sub-committees. All these bodies are composed of representatives of Member States who perform their task with the assistance and advice of appropriate bodies of the United Nations or the specialized agencies, as well as international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Probably, one of the most important single contribution of lMO to safety at sea was the adoption of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SO LAS) in 1974. Special requirements (ftre protection equipment, for example) of ships carrying dangerous goods are included into SOLAS, but there was nothing specifically addressed to ships carrying nuclear materials. This Convention refers to and is supplemented by the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, whose Class 7 contains provisions for the transport of radioactive materials by sea, following the IAEA regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials Safety Series 6 (1985 Edition, as amended 1990).