Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea Message to the Senate Transmitting a Protocol to the Convention.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, done at London, February 17, 1978. The report of the Department of State is enclosed for the information of the Senate.

The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Protocol is an international response to proposals which we made last year to improve the construction requirements for tankers, and the system for inspecting and certifying them. It deals with measures that, when they take effect, will reduce deficiencies in the physical condition of cargo ships, especially tankers, minimize steering gear failures, enhance the ability to detect collision situations and avoid collisions, and diminish the possibility of explosions.

The SOLAS Protocol, which is a separate treaty, modifies and adds to the 1974 SOLAS Convention, to which the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification on July 12, 1978. The Protocol requires the deposit of an instrument of ratification distinct from that of the related Convention. The Conference, as advocated by the U.S. delegation, set a target date of June 1979 for the entry into force of the SOLAS Convention and as soon as possible thereafter for the SOLAS Protocol.

The United States has been in the forefront of the drive for the adoption of both the Convention and the Protocol and would like to encourage other countries to act expeditiously on this matter. I therefore recommend that the Senate give prompt consideration to the SOLAS Protocol.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

January 19, 1979.