The 95th session of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee adopted the text of the International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low Flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code), together with amendments to SOLAS to make it mandatory. Both will enter into force on 1 January 2017.
The Code sets out provisions for the arrangement, installation, control and monitoring of machinery, equipment and systems using low flashpoint fuels, and concentrates, in the first instance, on the use of LNG. MSC 95 agreed that the Code should not apply to Gas Carriers complying with the IGC Code and appropriate adjustments were made to the SOLAS amendments to reflect this. Guidance for ships using other low flash fuels such as Ethanol or Methanol and measures for ships using low flashpoint diesel are under development for inclusion in the Code in the future as appropriate. The measures for gas carriers may have to be revised in the light of inclusion of any such fuels into the IGF Code.
The text of the IGF Code can be found in the Members’ Area.