Port State Control

Fuente: NE

11th December 2007: Following text approval at MSC 83, the IMO have issued a “Code of good practice for port State control officers”.

This document provides guidelines regarding the standards of integrity, professionalism and transparency that regional port State control (PSC) regimes expect of all port State control officers (PSCOs) who are involved in or associated with port State control inspections.

Click here for the IMO’s Code of practice for port State control officers.

► 31st October 2007: USA: Examination, Investigation or Boarding ?

A recent presentation to INTERTANKO members by representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard identified three principle types of visit that can be expected on foreign flag vessels in U.S. waters, these can be classified as;

Examinations - experienced by all foreign ships on a regular basis and are for the purpose of ensuring compliance with safety, environmental and security requirements.

Investigations - not as frequent as Examinations and are conducted after casualties, pollution incidents or suspected criminal activity, and

Boardings - also not as frequent as examinations. They occur on vessels that are potential security risks, require positive control by the USCG when entering a U.S. port or for the purposes of law enforcement, i.e. drug or migrant interdiction, apprehending persons of interest, etc.

For strategic purposes crew members may not be told the purpose of a USCG Boarding.

During the course of a ship visit the procedures that are followed by USCG personnel can give a good indication of the category of ship visit and can assist crew members determine an appropriate response. Other than for the purpose of a Boarding, CG personnel should be more than willing to explain the purpose of their visit.

Click here for the INTERTANKO presentation

► 20th September 2007: The popular BIMCO “Guide to prepare for Port State Control inspections in the USA” is again available from the secretariat.

Bimco wish to remind all interested parties that the guide remains available for download free of charge from the public section of the BIMCO website.
Two versions of the guide are available for download, one a high-resolution PDF file for quality printing purposes and the second a low-resolution PDF version that will facilitate quick transmission via e-mail to ships. Users of the guide are invited to copy and distribute the guide to seafarers.

Click here for the High Resolution Guide
Click here for the Low Resolution Guide

Additional links to PSC Inspection guidance from the North of England and other third parties can be found at the foot of this article.

Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CIC) *Updates*

2009
► Lifeboats: Tokyo MOU proposes a CIC on lifeboats in conjunction with the Paris MOU.

2008
► SOLAS Chapter V: A proposed CIC by the Paris MOU on safety of navigation (SOLAS Chapter V) in 2008 has been accepted.

2007
► ISM: A joint CIC will be conducted from September to November 2007 on the ISM Code (International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention) with the Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU and the United States Coast Guard, other MOU’s may also participate.

The inspection will focus on SMS documentation with major non-conformities being raised for:

□ safety management documentation not on board
□ missing ISM certificates
□ safety management documentation found not in the working language of the crew
□ crew considered unfamiliar with their SMS duties
□ evidence of poor communication between crew members
□ critical and standby equipment not being maintained or tested in accordance with planned maintenance procedures
□ the identity of the designated person not known by senior officers
□ lack of procedures in place to deal with emergencies
□ a lack of reporting procedures for non-conformities, accidents or hazardous occurrences
□ any hull, structure or other equipment defects which are determined appropriate for detention.


► Mooring operations and working on deck in heavy weather - 28 February 2007: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) have announced a concentrated inspection campaign (or in AMSA terms a focused inspection campaign (FIC)) to run from 1st March to 30th May 2007 which will examine:

□ Condition and maintenance of all mooring equipment including that used for securing tugs
□ Safety and awareness of mooring procedures
□ Crew knowledge of arrangements including SWLs
□ Preparing for sea - procedures
□ Working on deck in heavy weather – procedures and crew awareness

Click here for AMSA Marine Notice 05/2007

► MARPOL Annex II - 12th February 2007: BIMCO is advising it’s members of strict MARPOL Annex II enforcement. The updates entered into force on 1st January 2007 without a period of grace.

BIMCO advises: Starting January 2007 port State control inspections in the Paris MOU region will record as deficiencies and consider ship detention for items including - but not be limited to:

□ Certificate of Fitness (CoF) – valid

□ Procedures and Arrangements Manual – valid and approved

□ Products on board in accordance with the CoF and as per revised list

□ New operational requirements followed and recorded

□ STCW certificates as per Reg. V-1 and 2

2006
► Lifeboats and launching - 09/05/06. The Committee of the Indian Ocean MOU has recently agreed to conduct a CIC on lifeboats and lifeboat-launching appliances in order to ensure that seafarers operating in the Indian Ocean region have access to appropriate equipment in times of emergency. The Indian Ocean MOU currently comprises the following member states and regions: Australia, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kenya, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Yemen.
The campaign will be conducted between 1 May and 31 July 2006 and will target vessels to which the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention applies – namely all passenger vessels and cargo vessels of 500 gross tons (GT) and above. Indian Ocean MOU member authorities will inspect as many of these vessels as possible during the campaign period.
Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will perform the checks in conjunction with their routine PSC inspections, paying particular attention to the condition of the lifeboats and lifeboat-launching appliances, along with associated maintenance and training records, to verify that the equipment meets the standard required by SOLAS. Click here for a CIC checklist.

► OWS and record keeping - 25/01/06. CIC commences this week and will run until April 30. Every PSC inspection will focus on oil filtering equipment and record keeping. A parallel campaign will be run by the Tokyo MOU. Checklists for inspection will include illegal bypasses of the oil filtering system; illegal overboard connections from sludge tanks; oil record books correctly completed; alarms and automatic stopping devices; discharge to reception facilities; sludge capacity for an intended voyage. Deficiencies may require the master to rectify within 14 days or lead to detention of the ship until all deficiencies are rectified. In case of detention, the ship could face the risk of further inspections in other Paris MOU ports and publication in the monthly list of detentions.

2005
► GMDSS. From September 1st for three months the campaign that will target compliance with Global Maritime Distress and Safety System requirements and will see radio operators asked to show that the radio station is in a satisfactory working condition and used for its intended purpose. Every port state control inspection will check the vessel's GMDSS, its equipment, operation and correct recording of communications and maintenance.