IACS has announced its active participation in the forthcoming 12th session of the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 12) which will meet from 19 to 23 January 2026.
The Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC) considers a wide range of technical and operational matters related to ship design and construction, including subdivision and stability. The Sub-Committee also covers testing and approval of construction and materials, load lines, tonnage measurement, safety of fishing vessels and the carriage of industrial personnel.
Noting the work IACS Members undertake as recognized organizations of IMO Member States, verifying compliance of ships with IMO agreed requirements, and with a view to achieving clarity for all parties, IACS has submitted the following documents:
SDC 12/4 provides the report of the IACS-coordinated Correspondence Group on Development of Guidelines on the Use of RIT for 2011 ESP Code Surveys.
SDC 12/9/6 comments on the work plan for the revision of SOLAS chapter VIII and the Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships (resolution A.491(XII)), identifying the essential need for intergovernmental collaboration founded upon a globally harmonised liability regime. In support of this, the document encourages consideration of non-safety related facets of the Code to be distributed across both MEPC and FAL committees.
SDC 12/11 provides information on the approach to the approval of escape arrangements from machinery spaces in accordance with relevant SOLAS regulations and the safe use of existing arrangements for more than four decades. The document proposes that, in the absence of clear evidence of safety concerns, no amendment to SOLAS regulations II-2/13.4.1.1 and 13.4.2.1 is necessary.
SDC 12/INF.19 provides the results of a comparison between evacuation times from machinery spaces in support of the conclusion in document SDC 12/11 that SOLAS regulations need not be revised. It is demonstrated that an emergency escape trunk which does not extend to the lowest deck level provides equivalent or shorter evacuation times to a safe location than an escape trunk extending to the lowest deck level.
SDC 12/INF.20 provides further information in support of the conclusion in document SDC 12/11 that SOLAS regulations need not be revised in relation to requirements for escape from engine rooms. It contains the report of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of fire scenarios in the engine room of a container ship, aimed at assessing the risks associated with elevated access to emergency escape trunks and the potential benefit of lowering the access point. It is demonstrated that there is no measurable impact of an emergency escape trunk with inclined ladder on the crew’s ability to evacuate safely and swiftly during a fire.
SDC 12/14 proposes amendments to the Guidelines for the application of plastic pipes on ships (resolution A.753(18)) with a view to aligning it with the latest developments in plastic pipes and joint technology.
SDC 12/INF.2 informs the Sub-Committee about the publication of IACS Recommendation No. 189 for determining the equivalent level of safety required by the Polar Code, for assigning a polar ship class category to ships not assigned with an IACS Polar Class but ice-strengthened in compliance with another standard.
