ABSTRACT

The purpose of the SOLAS Convention1 is to promote safety of life at sea by establishing rules which govern the safe construction of ships,2 the safety equipment with which ships are required to be fitted and the standards to which they should be operated in order to avoid accidents.3 It is the role of the IMO regularly to review the convention and to draft any necessary amendments,4 but the responsibility for enforcement of the

1. International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, adopted on 1 November 1974 and entered in force on 25 May 1980 with the Protocol of 1988 as amended (hereinafter “SOLAS”). A full list of amendments and ratifications is available at www.imo.org/About/Conventions/StatusOfConventions/Pages/ Default.aspx (accessed 25 March 2014).