The ships which are categorized as “Bulk carrier” in SOLAS have already been provided in ClassNK Technical Information No. TEC-0808 of 1st April 2010.

ClassNK has confirmed that Cayman flagged ships are required to apply the IMO resolution MSC.277(85) regarding the definition of "Bulk carrier" in SOLAS.
Cayman flagged ships constructed on or after 1 July 2006 and have a notation of "BC-XII" affixed to the Classification Characters, the description of "Type of Ship" on the Safety Construction (SC) Certificate(s) and Safety Equipment (SE) Certificate(s) are to be categorized as "Bulk carrier".

The said ClassNK Technical Information No. TEC-0808 is thus revoked, accordingly.

In addition, the other instructions mentioned in ClassNK Technical Information No. TEC-0808 are not changed as follows:

1. General
Clarification of the definition of “Bulk carrier” in SOLAS has been adopted at IMO resolution MSC.277(85), but this resolution is not mandatory one. Therefore, ClassNK made a judgment that a ship categorized as “Bulk carrier” on the SC and SE Certificate(s) are to be changed according to the mandatory resolution MSC.170(79) which clarifies the definition of "Bulk carrier".
A ship which should be categorized as "Bulk carrier" on the SC and SE Certificate(s) would be changed from A) to B) as below.
A) a ship which is constructed generally with single deck, Top-side tanks and hopper side tanks in cargo spaces, and is intended primarily to carry dry cargo in bulk, and includes such types as ore carriers and combination carriers. - Reg.1.6/IX
B) a ship which is intended primarily to carry dry cargo in bulk, including such types as ore carriers and combination carriers. - Reg.1.1/XII

(To be continued)