5. The IACS case was presented as per Attachment 1 to this document and, after discussion, it was agreed that further IACS/ISO liaison was necessary.
6. For IMO's part, Mr Mitropoulos had suggested that he would draft letters to be sent by the respective Chairmen of the Marine Environment Protection Committee and the Maritime Safety Committee to the Chairmen of the Sub-Committees advising them of the situation and the need to avoid requesting ISO to develop standard which relate to the structural, mechanical or electrical requirements of the IACS Member Societies. The letter would urge the Chairmen of Sub-Committees, when in doubt, to consult with IACS and ISO.
7. Subsequently, IMO letters endorsed by Dr G Pattofatto, Chairman of the Maritime Safety Committee and Mr M H Julian, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Committee were sent to the Chairmen of IMO Sub-Committees in line with the above conclusion. A copy of this letter is enclosed as Attachment 2 for your information.
8. The report of MEPC 41 contains its consideration, under its Agenda Item 4, Work of Other Bodies that:-
"4.6 The Committee considered a submission from ISO with regard to the work programme of ISO/TC 8, many items of which are of interest to IMO(MEFPC 41/INF.15).
4.7 The Committee appreciated ISO/TC 8 for providing such information to the Committee and noted the intention of ISO/TC 8 to make further contributions to the work of IMO.
4.8 IACS advised that in the light of SOLAS Reg II/1/3-1, which will enter into force on 1 July 1998, IACS will liaise closely with ISC in order to avoid confusion between the respective work of IACS members and ISO in matters concerning the structural, mechanical and electrical requiremets of IACS Classification Societies."
9. This position was also endorsed by MSC 69, which was reported in document MSC 69/22 "Report of MSC 69" under Agenda Item 18 - Relations with Other Organisations that:-
"18.5 The Committee considered a report by ISO on the ISO/TC 8 work programme as it relates to the work of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies(MSC 69/18/1) and noted a previous submission to MEPC(MEPC41/INF 15) and comments thereon by IACS(MSC 69/13/2) expressing concern on the possible overlapping of the work of ISO/TC 8 with the work of IACS Member Societies.
18.6 The Committee, noting the requirements of SOLAS regulation II-1/3-1 to the effect that ships shall be designed, constructed and maintained in compliance with the standard mechanical and electrical requirements of a classification society which is recognised by the Administration or with applicable national standards of the Administration which provide an equivalent level of safety and acknowledging with appreciation the valuable contribution of both Organisations to its work programme, welcomed the statements by the representatives of IACS and ISO aimed at enhancing their mutual co-operation in order to avoid confusion between the respective work of IACS Members and ISO in matters concerning structural, mechanical and electrical requirements."
