DRAFT MSC CIRCULAR
VERSION B
APPLICATION OF PLANS FOR CO-OPERATION WITH SAR SERVICES TO CRUISE SHIPS
1 Regulation V/15 (c) of the SOLAS Convention provides that plans for co-operation between passenger ships trading on fixed routes and search and rescue services shall be developed and approved by Administrations.
2 The concept of fixed route poses no problems of interpretation when the regulation is applied to regular ro-ro passenger ship routes. However, apart from this example, there are many cases where it is not sure whether the ship's route should be considered fixed or not. This particularly applies in the case of cruise ships.
Some regions of the world are crossed by many cruise ships. Some of these ships only come occasionally, but others, offer the same type of cruise in the same sector over several years. However, bearing in mind that it is not a case of a regular route, the order of ports of call may vary from one voyage to another and that the frequency of voyages is not regular, it would probably be difficult to regard plans for co-operation with SAR services as legally binding on the owners of these ships. Nevertheless, these ships carry large numbers of passengers whose average age, moreover, is often fairly high. It would be useful, therefore, for these ships to have plans for co-operation with SAR services.
3 There is no that, apart from disasters or serious accidents, plans for co-operation with SAR services would be of considerable help to captains and SAR services in the case of circumstances quite frequent in the life of the ship such as minor breakdowns or medical evacuation.
4 That is why shipowners or captains of cruise ships are recommended to develop plans for co-operation with SAR services in the areas they frequent when the ship's operating programme provides that it will make more than [three] voyages in the sector in question in the next [six] months.
It is further recommended that these plans should be developed in the same form as mandatory plans, in accordance with MSC/Circ.864 "Guidelines for preparing plans for co-operation between search and rescue services and passenger ships on fixed routes (in accordance with SOLAS regulation V/15 (c))".
Finally, it is recommended that SAR services should respond positively to requests for voluntary development of a plan for co-operation with SAR services.
