MSC.548 (107) - Diving Code 2023

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RESOLUTION MSC.548(107) (adopted on 5 June 2023) INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY OR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE)
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MSC 107/20/Add.1  Annex 35, page 1
I:\MSC\107\MSC 107/20/Add.1.docx
 ANNEX 35 RESOLUTION MSC.548(107) (adopted on 5 June 2023) INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY FOR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE)
 THE MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE, RECALLING Article 28(b) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Committee, RECALLING ALSO that the Assembly, when adopting, by resolution A.831(19), the
Code of Safety for Diving Systems, 1995
(1995 Diving Code), authorized the Committee to amend the Code as necessary in the light of further developments and experience gained from the implementation of the provisions contained therein, RECALLING FURTHER that the Assembly, by resolution A.692(17), adopted
Guidelines and specifications for hyperbaric evacuation systems
, noting that hyperbaric evacuation systems were of value in certain circumstances for the rescue of divers involved in saturation diving operations where support ships might have to be abandoned, RECALLING that, at its seventy-ninth session, it adopted, by resolution MSC.185(79), amendments to the 1995 Diving Code, RECOGNIZING the need to ensure that provisions for diving and hyperbaric evacuation operations are kept up to date, RECOGNIZING ALSO the need to keep the 1995 Diving Code in effect after the adoption of the International Code of Safety for Diving Operations, 2023 (2023 Diving Code), which will apply to ships of not less than 500 gross tonnage that have a diving system installed on or after 1 January 2024, BEARING IN MIND that the Assembly, by resolution A.886(21), adopted the
Procedure for the adoption of, and amendments to, performance standards and technical specifications,
 resolving that the function of adopting maritime safety-related performance standards and technical specifications, as well as amendments thereto, shall be performed by the Committee, on behalf of the Organization, HAVING CONSIDERED, at its 107th session, the recommendation made by the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment, at its ninth session, 1 ADOPTS the International Code of Safety for Diving Operations, 2023 (2023 Diving Code), set out in the annex to the present resolution; 2 INVITES Member States concerned to: .1 consider the provisions of the 2023 Diving Code as recognized international provisions for the design, construction and survey of diving systems, diving units and hyperbaric evacuation systems; and .2 take appropriate action to give effect to the 2023 Diving Code.
 
RESOLUTION MSC.548(107) (adopted on 5 June 2023) INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY OR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE)
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MSC 107/20/Add.1  Annex 35, page 2
I:\MSC\107\MSC 107/20/Add.1.docx
 ANNEX
INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY FOR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE) PREAMBLE
 1 The International Code of Safety for Diving Operations, 2023 (2023 Diving Code) has been developed to provide an international standard of safety for diving units, the application
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 of which will result in a level of safety for a diving operation on a diving platform equivalent to that required by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS). 2 The intent of the 2023 Diving Code is to enhance the safety of divers and diving support personnel, facilitate the international movement and operation of diving units and provide a minimum international standard for the design, construction and survey of diving units to safely support diving operations. 3 The 2023 Diving Code has been developed for all diving operations from diving units and this includes circumstances where a diving system may be temporarily installed on a diving platform. 4 The 2023 Diving Code expands the scope of the 1995
Code of Safety for Diving Systems
(resolution A.831(19), as amended) and the
Guidelines and specifications for hyperbaric evacuation systems
(resolution A.692(17)), as set out in paragraph 1.4 of appendix 3 to this Code. 5 All diving personnel should be considered as persons on board (POB) with regard to the diving platform's normal life-saving appliances. However, divers under pressure and requiring lengthy decompression (such as those in saturation) cannot access the diving platform's normal life-saving appliances. They can only be evacuated in hyperbaric survival craft (HBSC). For the period that such divers are under pressure they do not need to be included in the number of personnel who are allocated to the diving platform's normal life-saving appliances. 6 While the 2023 Diving Code has been developed for new diving units where the diving platform is of 500 gross tonnage and above, Administrations may also consider the application of the provisions of this Code to diving platforms of lesser tonnage and of any age. 7 In order to facilitate the operation of diving units, this Code provides for a "Diving Unit Safety Certificate" (DUSC), which should be issued to every diving unit to which this Code applies. Where a diving unit is normally engaged on international voyages as defined in SOLAS, it shall, in addition, also carry SOLAS safety certificates, either: .1 for a passenger ship with a SOLAS Exemption Certificate; or .2 for a cargo ship with a SOLAS Exemption Certificate, where necessary, as the Administration deems appropriate. 8 Taking into account that there are some diving platforms, including fixed offshore installations, to which SOLAS does not apply but which carry out diving operations,  Administrations are invited, for the purpose of consideration of the safety of diving operations, to apply the standards of the 2023 Diving Code in such circumstances to the extent deemed reasonable and practicable.
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This is a non-mandatory code and its application is voluntary.
RESOLUTION MSC.548(107) (adopted on 5 June 2023) INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY OR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE)
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MSC 107/20/Add.1  Annex 35, page 3
I:\MSC\107\MSC 107/20/Add.1.docx
INTRODUCTION 1 Goal
The goal of the 2023 Diving Code is, especially where diving safety issues are not adequately addressed by other instruments of the Organization,
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 to: .1 provide a minimum international standard for the design, construction, installation and survey of diving systems integrated on ships, floating structures and MODUs (hereafter referred to as diving platforms) engaged in diving operations; .2 facilitate safe diving operations from diving platforms and achieve a level of safety equivalent to that required by SOLAS for ships engaged on international voyages; and .3 enable the international movement and safe operation of diving units.
2 Application
2.1 The 2023 Diving Code applies to ships of not less than 500 gross tonnes that have a diving system installed on or after 1 January 2024. The date of the completed installation should be taken as the date on which the DUSC is issued. The Administration may also apply these provisions as far as reasonable and practicable to ships of less than 500 gross tonnes and to other objects acting as a diving unit to which SOLAS does not apply. 2.2 Ships that have a diving system already installed prior to 1 January 2024 should be certified as a diving unit according to this Code by the due date of the next Safety Construction Renewal Survey or equivalent. Diving systems under construction at the time of this Code coming into effect, should consider the installation date as the date the building contract of the diving system was signed. 2.3 The 2023 Diving Code does not apply to the plant and equipment required for the medical care or treatment of patients, not related to diving, in a pressure vessel for human occupancy (PVHO).
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 2.4 The coastal State may impose additional or alternative requirements regarding the diving unit and diving operations. 2.5 Where plant and equipment are installed on a standby diving unit, the application of this Code should be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Administration.
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 2.6 The instruments referenced in table 1 have been considered in developing the provisions of this Code. In order to meet the goal in 1.2 above, in addition to the provisions of this Code, subsequent amendments to these instruments should also be applied, to the extent that they apply to diving, to the satisfaction of the Administration. The application of new instruments adopted after this Code has come into effect should also be considered.
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For example, by SOLAS; the LSA Code, as amended; the MODU Code, as amended; the FSS Code, as amended; the FTP Code, as amended; the Code of Safety for Diving Systems 1995, as amended; and by the
Guidelines and specifications for hyperbaric evacuation systems
 (resolution A.692(17)).
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 If required by an Administration, appropriate elements of this Code may be applied to a PVHO and associated plant and equipment installed and integrated into a vessel for medical treatment.
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Guidance on the requirements and certification of standby diving units available in appendix 1 (Guidance on standby diving units).
RESOLUTION MSC.548(107) (adopted on 5 June 2023) INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SAFETY OR DIVING OPERATIONS, 2023 (2023 DIVING CODE)
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