Mediterranean crisis forces rules update

The global shipping industry, represented by a wide cross section of international shipowners’ associations and seafarers’ unions, has collectively updated the industry’s Guidelines on Large Scale Rescue Operations at Sea. This is in response to the continuing crisis in the Mediterranean, in which merchant ships and their civilian crews have so far assisted in the rescue of more than 50,000 people. But the Guidelines are also applicable to other regions where ships may have to assist with rescue operations involving large numbers migrants or refugees, including south-east Asia.