International Maritime Organization (IMO) ’s most important ship safety treaty – SOLAS – provides for safe merchant shipping, covering a wide variety of topics, from ship construction to fire protection, to life-saving appliances and cargo carriage.
According to the UN body, SOLAS generally applies only to ships above a certain size which make international voyages, but IMO’s efforts to improve ship safety go further – extending to so-called “non-SOLAS” vessels. These include fishing vessels, domestic ferries, private yachts and small cargo vessels under 500 gross tonnage.
To help enhance safety of such vessels in Central and South America, IMO organized a regional training course on non-SOLAS ship inspections, held in San Salvador, El Salvador (28 October – 1 November).
Participants from six countries - Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua - received training on how to unify national criteria on maritime safety, maritime security and pollution prevention.
The course was organized in collaboration with Prefectura Naval Argentina (PNA), implemented by IMO’s Regional partner The Central American Commission of Maritime Transport (COCATRAM) and hosted by El Salvador.