New IMO “IP CODE” Adopted – Entry into force on 1 JULY 2024

A new mandatory safety code for ships carrying industrial personnel – aimed at ensuring the safety of people transported to work on offshore facilities including windfarms – has been adopted by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 106), which met 2-11 November 2022.

The draft MSC Resolution Adoption of the International Code of Safety for Ships Carrying Industrial Personnel (IP Code) can be found here.

The new Chapter XV of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the associated new International Code of Safety for Ships Carrying Industrial Personnel (IP Code) were developed by the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 8).

The aim is to provide minimum safety standards for ships that carry industrial personnel, as well as for the personnel themselves, and address specific risks of maritime operations within the offshore and energy sectors, such as personnel transfer operations. Such personnel may be engaged in the construction, maintenance, decommissioning, operation, or servicing of offshore facilities, such as windfarms, as well as offshore oil and gas installations, aquaculture, ocean mining, or similar activities.

All ships to which the IP Code applies shall (prior to the carriage of more than 12 industrial personnel on board) have on board an Industrial Personnel Safety Certificate, from the entry-into-force date.

The amendments and Code are expected to enter into force on 1 July 2024. The IP Code will intentionally fill and clarify the regulatory gap between SOLAS cargo ships and SOLAS passenger ships.

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