The UN's International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) safety committee is expected to adopt a new mandatory code for LNG gas-fuelled ships, reports London's Tanker Operator.

The maritime safety commitee is expected to adopt the draft International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code), along with draft amendments to make the code mandatory under Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

Gas as fuel poses its own set of safety problems, which need to be properly managed, said the report. The IGF Code aims to minimise risk having regard to the fuels involved.

The IGF Code will provide mandatory provisions for the arrangement, installation, control and monitoring of machinery, equipment using low-flashpoint fuels, focusing on LNG.

The safety committee will also be invited to adopt related amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) and the STCW Code, to include new mandatory minimum requirements and qualifications of masters, officers, ratings and other personnel on ships.

There will be draft amendments to SOLAS, clarifying provisions related to the secondary means of venting cargo tanks to ensure adequate safety.

The committee will consider submissions relating to cyber security, including a proposal to develop voluntary guidelines on cyber security practices to protect and enhance the resiliency of cyber systems supporting the operations of ports, vessels, marine facilities and other elements of the maritimetransportation system.

Statistics will be reviewed on reported incidents of piracy, including a proposal to review the boundaries of the High Risk Area, as outlined in the Best Management Practices (BMP).

The committee is also expected to adopt new ship routeing measures to protect sensitive areas in the south-west Coral Sea off Australia and to adopt five ‘areas to be avoided" around Alaska's Aleutian Islands.