Verdrag inzake stabiliteitsvereisten voor passagiersschepen die geregelde internationale lijndiensten van en naar havens in Noord-West-Europa en de Baltische Zee onderhouden

The Contracting Governments,

Being parties to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 as amended;

Recalling Article VII of the SOLAS Convention;

Mindful that the principal responsibility for establishing global safety standards rests with the International Maritime Organization (hereinafter referred to as “the Organization");

Noting the Organization's efforts in this area;

Noting in particular the adoption by the Conference of Contracting Governments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 held in London on 20, 27, 28 and 29 November 1995 of Conference Resolution 14 “Regional Agreements on Specific Stability Requirements for Ro-Ro Passenger Ships";

Recognising that the prevailing, often adverse, sea and weather conditions with low visibility, the low water temperatures, the need to maintain intensive all year round ro-ro passenger ferry services, the public dependence on such services, recent accidents and the density of ro-ro passenger ship movements and potentially conflicting shipping movements at particular locations require the application of specific stability requirements to all ro-ro passenger ships operating regular scheduled voyages between or to or from designated ports in North West Europe and the Baltic Sea;

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1. Definitions

For the purposes of the present Agreement:

• a). International voyage means a voyage from a country to which the present Agreement applies to a port outside that country, or conversely;

• b). Ro-ro passenger ship means a passenger ship with ro-ro cargo spaces or special category spaces as defined in regulation II–2/3 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 as amended;

• c). Specific stability requirements means the specific stability requirements specified in annex 2;

• d). Designated port means any port within the area bounded by lines and the coast as shown on the map at annex 1 from which ro-ro passenger ships operate on regular scheduled international voyages;

• e). Secretary-General means the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.

Article 2. General Obligation

The Contracting Governments agree to apply the specific stability requirements to ro-ro passenger ships entitled to fly their flag and operating on regular scheduled international voyages carrying passengers

• a). between designated ports or

• b). to or from designated ports.

Article 3. Specific Stability Requirements

The Contracting Governments agree to apply the specific stability requirements no later than the dates prescribed in annex 2.

Article 4. Single Voyage Exemptions

A ro-ro passenger ship which is not normally engaged on regular scheduled international voyages between or to or from designated ports but which is required to undertake a single voyage between such ports or to or from such a port may be exempted from any or all of the specific stability requirements by a Contracting Government or by the ship's flag State, following consultations with the Contracting Government or Governments between or to or from whose ports the voyage is to take place. An exemption shall not be granted by the ship's flag State unless the ship complies with international safety requirements which in the joint opinion of the ship's flag State and the Contracting Government or Governments between or to or from whose ports the voyage is to take place are adequate for the intended voyage.

Article 5. Application to Ro-Ro Passenger Ships of Flag States Non-parties to the present Agreement

Article 6. Mutual Acceptance of Documents

Article 7. Signature, Ratification, Acceptance, Approval and Accession

• a). signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or

• b). signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification, acceptance or approval, or

• c). accession.

Article 8. Notification and Entry into Force

It shall enter into force

• a). twelve months after the date of notification to the Secretary-General, or

• b). on the date on which not fewer than five States have become parties in accordance with Article 7,

whichever is the later.

Article 9. Denunciation

Article 10. Deposit and Registration

• a). all Contracting Governments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 as amended,

• b). the Commission of the European Communities.

Article 11. Languages

The present Agreement is established in a single copy in the English, French, Spanish and Russian languages, each text being equally authentic.

Application

In accordance with this Agreement, passenger ships with ro-ro cargo spaces or special category spaces as defined in regulation II–2/3 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, as amended, shall comply with the provisions of this Agreement not later than at the first yearly inspection following the date of compliance prescribed below, according to the value of A/Amax as defined in the annex to the Calculation Procedure to Assess the Survivability Characteristics of Existing Ro-Ro Passenger Ships When Using a Simplified Method Based Upon resolution A.265 (VIII), developed by the Maritime Safety Committee at its fifty-ninth session in June 1991 (MSC/Circ.574):

Value of A/Amax	Date of Compliance
Less than 85%	1 April 1997
Less than 90%	31 December 1998
Less than 95%	31 December 1999
Less than 97.5%	31 December 2000
97.5% or higher	31 December 2001 but in any case not later than 1 October 2002

Stability Standard

• .1. the provisions of paragraphs 2.3 regulation 8 shall be complied with when taking into account the effect of a hypothetical amount of sea water which is assumed to have accumulated, on the first deck above the designed waterline of the ro-ro cargo space or special category space as defined in regulation II–2/3 assumed to be damaged (referred to as “the damaged ro-ro deck" hereinafter). The other requirements of regulation 8 need not be complied with in the application of the stability standard1)Guidance notes on the standard to be developed. contained in this Agreement. The amount of assumed accumulated sea water shall be calculated on the basis of a water surface having a fixed height above:

• a). the lowest point of the deck edge of the damaged compartment of the ro-ro deck, or

• b). when the deck edge in way of the damaged compartment is submerged then the calculation is based on a fixed height above the still water surface at all heel and trim angels; as follows: 0.5 m if the residual freeboard fr) is 0.3 m or less; 0.0 m if the residual freeboard (fr) is 2.0 m or more; and intermediate values to be determined by linear interpolation, if the residual freeboard (fr) is 0.3 m or more but less than 2.0 m; where the residual freeboard (fr) is the minimum distance between the damaged ro-ro deck and the final waterline at the location of the damage in the damage case being considered without taking into account the effect of the volume of assumed accumulated water on the damaged ro-ro deck;

• .2. when a high-efficiency drainage system is installed, the Administration may allow a reduction in the height of the water surface in accordance with the guidelines to be developed by the Organization1)Refer to the “guidelines ..... ".;

• .3. for ships in geographically defined restricted areas of operation, the Administration may reduce the height of the water surface determined in accordance with subparagraph 1 substituting such height of the water surface by the following:

• .3.1. 0.0 m if the significant wave height (hs) defining the area concerned is 1.5 m or less;

• .3.2. the value determined in accordance with subparagraph 1 if the significant wave height (hs) defining the area concerned is 4.0 m or above;

• .3.3. intermediate values to be determined by linear interpolation if the significant wave height (hs) defining the area concerned is 1.5 m or more but less than 4.0 m; provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

• .3.4. the Administration is satisfied that the defined area is represented by the significant wave height (hs) which is not exceeded with a probability of more than 10%; and

• .3.5. the area of operation and, if applicable, the part of the year for which a certain value of the significant wave height (hs) has been established are entered into the certificates; and

• .4. as an alternative to the requirements of subparagraph .1 or sub- paragraph .3, the Administration may exempt application of the requirements of subparagraph .1 or subparagraph .3 and accept proof, established by model tests carried out for an individual ship in accordance with the model test method developed by the Organization1)Refer to the “model test method attached to this document"., annexed to this document justifying that the ship will not capsize with the assumed extent of damage as provided in paragraph 4 of regulation 8 in the worst location being considered under paragraph 1.1 in an irregular seaway, and

• .5. reference to acceptance of the results of the model test as an equivalence to compliance with subparagraph .1 or subparagraph .3; the value of the significant wave height (hs) used in the model tests shall be entered into the ship's certificates.

• .6. the information supplied to the master in accordance with paragraphs 7.1 and 7.2 of regulation 8, as developed for compliance with paragraphs 2.3 to 2.3.4, shall apply unchanged for ro-ro passenger ships approved according to these requirements.

• .1. a transverse or longitudinal bulkhead shall be considered intact if all parts of it lie inboard of vertical surfaces on both sides of the ship, which are situated at a distance from the shell plating equal to one-fifth of the breadth of the ship, as defined in regulation 2, and measured at right angles to the centreline at the level of the deepest subdivision load line;

• .2. in cases where the ship's hull is structurally partly widened for compliance with the provisions of this regulation, the resulting increase of the value of one-fifth of the breadth of it is to be used throughout, but shall not govern the location of existing bulkhead penetrations, piping systems, etc., which were acceptable prior to the widening;

• .3. the tightness of transverse or longitudinal bulkheads which are taken into account as effective to confine the assumed accumulated sea water in the compartment concerned in the damaged ro-ro deck shall be commensurate with the drainage system, and shall withstand hydrostatic pressure in accordance with the results of the damage calculation. Such bulkheads shall be at least 4 m in height unless the height of water is less than 0.5 m. In such cases the height of the bulkhead may be calculated in accordance with the following: Bh = 8hw where Bh = bulkhead height, and hw = height of water In any event,the minimum height of the bulkhead shall be not less than 2.2 m. However, in the case of a ship with hanging car decks, the minimum height of the bulkhead shall be not less than the height to the underside of the hanging car deck when in its lowered position.

• .4. For special arrangements such as, e.g., full width hanging decks and wide side casings, other bulkhead heights may be accepted based on detailed model tests;

• .5. The effect of the volume of the assumed accumulated sea water need not be taken into account for any compartment of the damaged ro-ro deck, provided that such a compartment has on each side of the deck freeing ports evenly distributed along the sides of the compartment complying with the following:

• .5.1. A ≥ 0.3 l where A is the total area of freeing ports on each side of the deck in m2; and I is the length of the compartment in m;

• .5.2. the ship shall maintain a residual freeboard of at least 1.0 m in the worst damage condition without taking into account the effect of the assumed volume of water on the damaged ro-ro deck; and

• .5.3. such freeing ports shall be located within the height of 0.6 m above the damaged ro-ro deck, and the lower edge of the ports shall be within 2 cm above the damaged ro-ro deck; and

• .5.4. such freeing ports shall be fitted with closing devices or flaps to prevent water entering the ro-ro deck whilst allowing water which may accumulate on the ro-ro deck to drain; and

• .6. when a bulkhead above the ro-ro deck is assumed damaged, both compartments bordering the bulkhead shall be assumed flooded to the same height of water surface as calculated in paragraphs 1.1 and 1.3 above.

1. Objectives

In the tests provided for in paragraph 1.4 of the stability requirements pertaining to the agreement, the ship should prove capability to withstand a seaway defined in paragraph 3 hereunder in the worst damage case scenario.

2. Ship model