Approval of COVID-19 Operational Safety Reports

Within the framework of Law 27,514, sanctioned in August 2019, the national public interest in transport security was decreed. This sought to promote safety, efficiency and sustainability through studies that strengthen and ensure compliance. Thus, the Transport Safety Board (“the Board”) was created, a decentralized body under the Ministry of Transport, whose mission is to determine the causes of transport accidents and incidents through the technical investigation that it is responsible for carrying out. Accordingly, the Board prepares recommendations for effective actions aimed at preventing the occurrence of accidents in the future, thereby contributing to the maximization of operational safety.

The Board intervenes in the event of accidents or incidents involving aircraft, cars, railways, shipping and any other event related to the transport of persons or goods when it considers it appropriate, or at the request of technical assistance. It is alsow within its competence the power to carry out specific studies, investigations and special reports, regardless of those made from the occurrence of events in transport.

[Today / On June 12, 2020], through Resolution No. 16/2020, the “COVID-19 Operational Safety Reports” were approved for the different sectors in which the Board intervenes. Annexes III and VI include the recommendations for the maritime, river and lake sector, and for the aviation sector, respectively.

 

COVID-19 Operational Safety Report: Maritime, River and Lake Sector

The report includes, among others, the following proposals:

• The postponement of the expiration of authorizations and certifications of personnel and vessels. It is also recommended that exceptions and extensions granted to technical inspections, verification audits or other exemptions issued do not represent an unnecessary increase in operational risk. It also proposed that the deferral dates be the same as those adopted by the International Maritime Organization, i.e., December 31, 2020;

 

• Conduct a “risk analysis” by ship owners, ship masters and port service providers to identify risks that may occur as a result of the pandemic and adopt measures to mitigate them. Furthermore, it recommended assessing whether it is necessary to request the adequacy of insurance requirements for the coverage of contingencies due to a pandemic;

 

• Require the operator and service provider to comply with a procedure to verify that the manufacture, repair, maintenance, and tugboats, among other actors of the port and navigation activity, have protocols against the propagation of COVID-19.

 

Other recommendations were made regarding the care of personnel and the work context, along with suggested guidelines for operational personnel in contact with passengers.

 

COVID-19 Operational Safety Report: Aviation Sector

The recommendations issued include:

• With regard to the postponement of the expiry of authorizations and certifications, the National Civil Aviation Administration should grant “exceptions to or extensions of airworthiness certificates or technical inspections, authorizations for aeronautical repair shops, service providers, etc.”, while recommending “establishing a plan to standardize the various operational and technical authorizations, medical certifications of personnel (...)”;

 

• With regard to both commercial passenger and cargo air operations and civil aviation, it proposes operators and service providers comply with a risk analysis identifying hazards “arising from the cessation of air operations and emergency flights, both in the operational area and in technical equipment and aircraft, prior to the commencement of normal and exceptional operations”. In addition, it recommended reviewing the basic and mandatory requirements of the required insurance, with respect to coverage against a pandemic;

 

• The request to operators and service providers to implement protocols for the handling and control of passengers during the entire air journey, which must also be clear and effective in disinfecting the aircraft. Likewise, the manufacturers of the equipment will have to approve them so that they do not produce evident or underlying damages that put the operations in danger";

 

• Verification of protocols for manufacturing services, repair, maintenance, inspections, among others.

 

Measures were also proposed with regard to personal care and the work context.