2012-2251. Shipping Coordinating Committee; Notice of Committee Meeting

The Shipping Coordinating Committee (SHC) will conduct an open meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Room 5-1224 of the United States Coast Guard Headquarters Building, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the twentieth Session of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Subcommittee on Flag State Implementation to be held at the IMO Headquarters, United Kingdom, March 26-30, 2012.

The primary matters to be considered include:

Adoption of the agenda;

Decisions of other IMO bodies;

Responsibilities of Governments and measures to encourage flag State compliance;

Mandatory reports under International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78);

Casualty statistics and investigations;

Harmonization of port State control activities;

Port State Control (PSC) Guidelines on seafarers' hours of rest and PSC guidelines in relation to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006;

Development of guidelines on port State control under the 2004 Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention;

Comprehensive analysis of difficulties encountered in the implementation of IMO instruments;

Review of the Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) and the annexes to the Code for the Implementation of Mandatory IMO Instruments;

Consideration of International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) unified interpretations;

Review of the IMO Instruments Implementation Code;

Development of a Code for Recognized Organizations;

Measures to protect the safety of persons rescued at sea;

Illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and related matters;

Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman for 2013.

Members of the public may attend this meeting up to the seating capacity of the room. To facilitate the building security process, and to request reasonable accommodation, those who plan to attend should contact the meeting coordinator, Mr. E.J. Terminella, by email at [e-mail], by phone at [phone], by fax at [phone], or in writing at Commandant (CG-543), U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 2nd Street SW., Stop 7581, Washington, DC 20593-7581 not later than March 7, 2012, 7 days prior to the meeting. Requests made after March 7, 2012 might not be able to be accommodated. Please note that due to security considerations, two valid, government issued photo identifications must be presented to gain entrance to the Headquarters building. The Headquarters building is accessible by taxi and privately owned conveyance (public transportation is not generally available). However, parking in the vicinity of the building is extremely limited. Additional information regarding this and other IMO SHC public meetings may be found at: www.uscg.mil/​imo.

Dated: January 23, 2012.

Brian Robinson,

Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating Committee, Department of State.