UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NOV 22 '48

Letter of Transmittal

DEAR MR. SECRETARY:

As Chairman of the Delegation of the United States of America to the International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea, which was held at London from April 23 to June 10, 1948, I submit the attached report on behalf of the Delegation.

The degree to which the United States Delegation to the Safety of Life at Sea Conference was successful in attaining its objectives can perhaps best be measured by referring to the instructions issued to the Delegation. These instructions contained a number of specific points upon which it was hoped favorable action could be secured.

Early in the instructions the Delegation was directed to make every effort to see that the Safety Convention was in accordance with those articles of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) Convention which had to do with maritime safety. This, it is believed, was fully achieved.

The Delegation was instructed to endeavor to secure the adoption of the general provisions contained in the United States draft proposals but was authorized to recede from them, where necessary, with the advice and consent of the representatives of the Department of State serving with the Delegation. Certain of these provisions, notably those which would have given to Imco a degree of supervisory power, were found to be without support by any other delegation and were consequently withdrawn. Otherwise the general provisions contained in the final Convention follow, in the main, the United States proposals, particularly those having to do with emergency suspensions, control, and the reporting of casualties. The Delegation was directed not to agree to any proposals which would have the effect in practice of lowering the standards of safety of the 1929 Convention on Safety of Life at Sea. It may be stated confidently that this position was upheld. The Delegation was further directed not to advocate any proposals for higher standards than those suggested in the United States draft, but it was authorized to agree to any such advanced standards if they were substantially supported by other Delegations. In a few directions, notably in fixing the lowering tonnage limit

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with the respect to cargo vessels, proposals in advance of United States proposals were agreed to by the Delegation.

The instructions foresaw that the Conference might not be able to consider all of the new matters contained in the United States proposals. If it became necessary to confine the discussions to a limited number of those subjects the Delegation was directed to endeavor to secure consideration of the proposals on cargo-handling gear as a primary objective and, in addition, to make effort to secure agreement on basic principles in connection with dangerous cargoes and with electrical installations. Any matters which could not receive full consideration by the Conference were to be remitted to IMCO, when formed, for further study.

In spite of strenuous efforts, the Delegation was unable to secure consideration of the subject of cargo-handling gear. Because this had been the subject of an International Labor Organization convention, the majority of the delegations felt that it should not be considered by the Safety of Life at Sea Conference. The Delegation was successful in securing the adoption of basic principles with respect to dangerous cargoes and to electrical installations and was further successful in securing recommendations dealing with other subjects omitted or incompletely dealt with.

The Delegation was instructed to oppose the application of the Safety Convention to the inland waters of the Great Lakes. With the full cooperation of the Canadian Delegation, a specific exemption of vessels solely navigating the Great Lakes was written into the convention.

With respect to technical subjects, the instructions gave the Delegation broad discretionary powers but expressed the hope that progress could be made in the directions of subdivision and of fire protection. The instructions added that if agreement could not be reached in safety matters as between two or more methods it would be preferable to include the several methods as alternatives rather than to secure agreement upon a standard lower than any of them. This was actually carried out in regard to fire protection. A certain degree of progress was made in the direction of subdivision.

The instructions directed the Delegation to take into account the report of the Preparatory Committee on Coordination of Safety at Sea and in the Air, which report dealt primarily with the coordination of activities of other specialized agencies with Imco in the field of maritime safety. In this connection the Delegation was authorized to withdraw its proposals with regard to meteorological services if such withdrawal should be requested by the International Meteorological Organization. Such

withdrawal would have been in accordance with the principles laid down by the Preparatory Committee. At the Conference the report of this committee was given full consideration, but the meteorological proposals, as amended, were continued in the convention at the request of representatives of the International Meteorological Organization.

The Delegation received a suggestion from the Department of State that the form of the 1929 Convention might be improved, particularly with regard to the inclusion of all technical matters as regulations rather than dividing them between articles and regulations as was the case in the 1929 Convention. The Delegation found that the form of the United States proposals met general favor with other delegations and the new convention, to a large extent, follows this form.

The entire Delegation was greatly impressed with the potentialities of IMCO for dealing with safety matters in the future. The creation of this agency will permit a clear delineation of its responsibilities in the field of maritime safety. The fact that it will meet as a body at prescribed and regular intervals will insure a continuity of thinking and effort and progressive, yet well considered, advances in safety standards.