PORT STATE CONTROL Archives - Page 13 of 19

It would be a mistake to place responsibility for meeting IMO’s zero emission shipping targets fully on the shoulders of the shipping industry, warns INTERCARGO, as the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (IMO’s MEPC 78) debates steps to meet IMO ambitions for zero emission shipping by 2050.

Spyros Tarasis, Vice-Chairman of INTERCARGO says: “Global challenges require global solutions, but it must be remembered that the commercial development of these solutions is within the direct control of other stakeholders and not shipowners. Such a target requires a drastic and urgently needed acceleration in the commercial development of the required technologies, fuels, propulsion systems and related infrastructure.

Resource: INTERCARGO MEDIA RELEASE_09_06_2022

IMO’s Facilitation Committee has adopted amendments to the Facilitation (FAL) Convention which will make the single window for data exchange mandatory in ports around the world, marking a significant step in the acceleration of digitalization in shipping.

Other amendments adopted include lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and add new and amended Recommended Practices to prevent corruption and illicit activities in the maritime sector.

The Facilitation Convention was adopted in 1965 and contains standards and recommended practices and rules for simplifying formalities, documentary requirements and procedures on ships’ arrival, stay and departure. The Convention has been updated continuously, embracing digitalization and automation for procedures. (Read more.)

The amendments adopted at the Facilitation Committee (FAL 46) session, which met 9 to 13 May, are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024.

On other matters, the Committee approved the updated Compendium on Electronic Business; approved guidelines to tackle illicit international wildlife trade; and completed its regulatory; scoping exercise on maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS).

Mandatory Single Window

The amendments update the provisions of the FAL Convention on mandatory electronic data exchange in ports for ship clearance. The amendments to the annex of the Convention will make it mandatory for public authorities to establish, maintain and use single window systems for the electronic exchange of information required on arrival, stay and departure of ships in ports. In addition, public authorities will have to combine or coordinate the electronic transmission of the data to ensure that information is submitted or provided only once and reused to the maximum extent possible.

The Committee approved related guidelines on authentication, integrity and confidentiality of information exchanges via maritime single windows and related services; and revised guidelines for setting up a maritime single window.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

The updated annex to the FAL Convention includes provisions derived from lessons learned during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contracting Governments and their relevant public authorities are required to allow ships and ports to remain fully operational during a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), in order to maintain complete functionality of global supply chains to the greatest extent possible. Public authorities are required to designate port workers and ships’ crew as key workers (or equivalent), regardless of their nationality or the flag of their ship, when in their territory.

Tackling maritime corruption

Updates to the FAL Convention take a systemic approach to addressing the issue of corruption associated with the ship-shore interface in ports. Contracting Governments will be required to encourage public authorities to assess the risks of corruption and address them by developing and implementing preventive measures to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability. The Committee approved related Guidance to implement and adopt procedures against maritime corruption.

IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business

The Committee approved an updated version of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business (the IMO Compendium). The new version includes the following five new data sets: “Ship reporting systems”; “Ship and company certificates”; “Ship registry and company details”; “Inspections” and “Port State Control inspection history data”.

Guidelines to tackle illicit international wildlife trade approved

The Committee approved guidelines for the prevention and suppression of the smuggling of wildlife on ships engaged in international maritime traffic. The guidelines are expected to serve as a tool to combat wildlife trafficking in the maritime sector and its implementation must be in accordance with international law, in particular, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Progress on MASS regulations

The FAL Committee approved the outcome of the regulatory scoping exercise (RSE), which analyzed relevant ship safety treaties under the remit of the Committee to assess how maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) could be regulated.

The Committee concurred with the establishment of an MSC-LEG-FAL Joint Working Group on MASS to provide advice on and consider ways to address common issues identified by the three committees.

Source: IMO

Port State Control (PSC) inspection is an important function performed by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore and the inspections are carried out by Port State Control Officers from the Port State Control Department of the Shipping Division.

The inspection ensures that the ships leaving the port meet international safety, security and marine pollution prevention standards.

Ships that do not meet these standards may be detained and would need to apply for a follow-up inspection before release from detention. The shipowner or company has the right to appeal against the detention.

Singapore is a founding member of the “Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region”, better known as the “TOKYO-MOU”.

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) held its 55th Committee meeting in Bucharest, Romania from the 16th to the 20th of May 2022. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Brian Hogan.

After two years of virtual meetings, the Paris MoU was able to meet physically. Most of the members and observers enjoyed the face-to-face opportunity and of its positive impact on discussions and decision-making. Those who were not able to attend were given the opportunity to participate online.

Although the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic continues to normalize within the region, a main element discussed was the ongoing impact of the pandemic on port State control. The Committee was of the opinion that such after-effects should be monitored and possible lessons to be learned from the pandemic and the way in which the Paris MoU has dealt with it should also be considered.

Following last year’s recognition by the Committee for a clear momentum to explore the need and feasibility of a port State control regime for fishing vessels, this year the Committee agreed to initiate a pilot project on port State control on fishing vessels of more than 24 meters. This is expected to result in the inspection of foreign fishing vessels by 2024. Participation of Paris MoU member Authorities will be on a voluntary basis. After the pilot, based on the information gathered, the Committee will decide on further actions regarding a possible future port State control regime for fishing vessels.

Despite that COVID-19 continues to attracting a lot of our attention and making our lives difficult, 2022 is going to be a year of focus on the environment. Following COP26, the message is clear; we need to act now against the climate change and for the maritime industry, IMO has already paved the way with the enforcement of strict environmental rules; nonetheless, maritime safety will always be a key concern for the industry.

Let’s have a look at what to expect within this new year from a regulatory perspective

First reporting period for UK MRV

As a result of Brexit, EU MRV no longer applies to ships visiting UK ports. More specifically, the UK Government, in last September, released guidance on the application of its own scheme for monitoring, reporting and verifying (UK MRV) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Ship operators should begin collecting emissions data for their ships under the UK MRV regime from 1 January 2022.

Ships over 5,000 gross tonnes, transporting cargo and/or passengers for commercial purposes to and from UK ports, between UK ports or within UK ports (including while at berth), are subject to the UK MRV regime. The same exceptions apply to vessels under the UK MRV regime (e.g. for warships), that apply under the EU MRV regime. Ship operators must have in place an assessed monitoring plan before data collection begins. The assessment of the monitoring plan and the verification of the annual emission report for each ship needs to be done by an accredited verifier. By 30 April following each reporting period, a verified emissions report must be submitted to the UK Administration covering the previous reporting period. By 30 June following each reporting period, a valid Document of Compliance (DoC) must be carried on board each vessel covering the previous reporting period.

SEEMP revision to include EEXI and CDI within 2022

During MEPC 76 in June 2021, the IMO adopted measures that will require all ships to calculate their Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) following technical means to improve their energy efficiency and to establish their annual operational carbon intensity indicator (CII) and CII rating. The requirements will enter into force on 1st of January 2023, but until then, ship operators need to revise their Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP) accordingly. In particular, the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI (adopted in a consolidated revised Annex VI) are expected to enter into force on 1 November 2022, with the requirements for EEXI and CII certification coming into effect from 1 January 2023. This means that the first annual reporting on carbon intensity will be completed in 2023, with the first rating given in 2024, IMO mentions.

A new era in SIRE inspection program

The new SIRE 2.0 by OCIMF is expected to become operational within 2022 and for the first time will take into consideration the human element to ensure inspectors are sensitive to all pressures onboard. It will feature the following four key areas of focus:

Accuracy: Facilitating an accurate description of how key safety and operational risks are managed and verified onboard a vessel.
Capability: Training and developing inspectors who are of the highest quality, consistency and integrity.
Reliability: Strengthening vessel inspections and reducing the number of repeat inspections required.
Adaptability: More rapid response to human factors, industry changes, regulatory framework updates and technology advances.

In future SIRE 2.0 will encompass all of OCIMF’s inspection programmes. This includes OCIMF’s Barge Inspection Report programme (BIRE) and Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID). However, in an exclusive interview, Mr David Savage, who was responsible for the development and introduction of the SIRE Inspector Accreditation Programme back in 2000, said that the additional workload that comes with SIRE2 will impact both ship and shore staff, at least during the start-up months until familiarity and routines are established.

PSCOs to focus on STCW from 1 September to 30 November

This year, the planned Concentrated Inspections Campaigns across all MoUs will focus on STCW. In particular, for three months, PSC Officers will check topics relevant with STCW requirements to ensure full compliance.

In the past, a focused CIC took place in 2014 by Paris and Tokyo MoUs along with others, with the purpose to establish that watchkeeping personnel are meeting the requirements regarding hours of rest as per STCW 78 as amended (including the Manila amendments). For this year’s CIC, it remains for the questionnaire to be issued within summer in order to view the focus items of control.

Focused Inspection Campaign on planned maintenance in Australia

AMSA announced that a Focused Inspection Campaign (FIC) on Planned Maintenance will be conducted from 15 January 2022 to 30 March 2022. As such, AMSA surveyors will undertake the FIC in conjunction with a normal port or flag State control inspection and any port State control deficiencies will be reported to regional port State control databases.

The purpose of the FIC is to determine the level of compliance with the maintenance requirements of the International Conventions. AMSA PSCOs will be using a specific checklist when inspecting ships as part of the planned maintenance FIC and therefore, ship managers need to be prepared accordingly. Planned maintenance is an important aspect when considering seaworthiness.

Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI : Procedures for FO Sampling

Annex VI has been amended to introduce definitions distinguishing between “in-use” and “on board” fuel oil samples taken from a vessel. The entirety of Appendix VI of MARPOL Annex VI has also been revised to simplify the verification procedure for the “MARPOL delivered fuel oil sample” and to add verification procedures for the “in-use sample” and the “on board sample”, effective from 1st of April, 2022. This regulatory update applies to all ships ≥400gt and keel laid date ≥01/04/2022.

Amendments to regulations 14 and 18 of MARPOL Annex VI regarding sulphur content

Effective from 1st of April, 2022, new paragraphs 8 and 9 are added for ‘In-use and on board fuel oil sampling and testing’ and paragraphs 10 to 13 for ‘In-use fuel oil sampling point’ under regulation 14.

The verification procedure part 2 is to be followed in the new Verification procedures of Appendix VI of MARPOL Annex VI. For the test results, 95% confidence will be allowed (limit X + 0.59R) and the acceptable sulphur limits are extended to 0.11% and 0.53% for 0.10% and 0.5% respectively. Paragraph 8.2 has been replaced under regulation 18.

Amendments to the BWM Convention

To clarify the conduct of statutory surveys for Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS), MEPC 75 adopted the amendments proposed to BWM regarding commissioning testing of ballast water management systems (Regulation E-1) and the form of the International Ballast Water Management Certificate (Appendix I), effective from 1st of June 2022.

Consequently, revised Guidance for the commissioning testing of ballast water management systems is available as BWM.2/Circ.70/Rev.1. The commissioning testing is to be conducted by an accredited entity which is independent from the BWMS manufacturer or supplier and one that is approved by the flag Administration or the RO working on its behalf.

Amendments to SOLAS VII regarding IMDG Code

In addition to the periodic review of carriage requirements for new and existing substances, these amendments introduce a new handling code for medical waste and other updated guidance, effective from June, 2022.

Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI regarding EEDI Regulations

Annex has been amended to mandate the reporting of required and attained EEDI values to the IMO. Tables providing EEDI reduction factors have been replaced. These amendments will come into force from November, 2022.

Source: skanregistry

At the outset of the pandemic, as global travel restrictions prevented seafarers, port workers, and nautical inspectors from transiting borders to board vessels, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry quickly recognized the need for flexibility in conducting inspections and surveys. That flexibility led to protocols and procedures for remote inspections, which began 25 March 2020. While remote inspections are not a preferred method for crew or inspectors, they have been useful in maintaining oversight of safety operations during the pandemic and globally 925 have been conducted as of 25 January 2021 with around 24% conducted in the Asian region. In January 2021 the Asian region conducted over 90% of their inspections in person.

Protecting the safety of vessels and crew in a rapidly fluctuating world has required precision level coordination and communication between flag State inspectors, operators, crew, port State control (PSC) authorities, and local health officials. In the last several years, the Registry has invested in expanding technical and fleet operations capabilities worldwide. In addition to hiring leadership with Australian Maritime and Safety Administration (AMSA) experience, the Registry has also hired an inspector in Manila, and contracted with reliable third-party inspectors throughout Asia, increasing the number of regional inspection assets to more than 60. The geographic disbursement of the team has been critical in facilitating physical inspections during the pandemic.

“We’re planning ahead for inspections with the designated person ashore (DPA), however changes occur rapidly and frequently, so our team plans for a variety of inspection scenarios,” said Captain Sascha Dyker, Fleet Operations Manager (IRI Hong Kong). “Having a local inspector who can comply with changing guidance and understands the local authorities and situation has been critical,” he continued.

Source: register-iri

Industry sources have indicated that port state control (PSC) is now being physically implemented within the ports of the UAE. Inspections are already under way and reports of non-compliance are being submitted to interested parties.

This unilateral step within the Gulf is being welcomed by the local maritime industry as a brave move by the UAE, which will set a clear example to all other administrations within the area, who have been slow to even plan the implementation of port state control despite discussions last February on a memorandum of understanding on PSC between several Gulf states.

Capt. Mohammed Alaa Farag, marine affairs consultant to the Ministry of Communications, confirmed that the initial process is underway, but would necessarily take several months to complete.

He said it must be done properly and emphasised the need to ensure that ships entering and leaving UAE waters were fully compliant with international standards of safety and environmental control.

To this end, the UAE government was keeping its pledge, made last February, when it was announced that the UAE would enforce PSC by the end of the year. That announcement followed several marine incidents in UAE waters.

They included the sinking of a 42-year old Honduras-flagged tanker, Al Jaziya 1, off the coast of Abu Dhabi on January 24, which released several hundred tonnes of fuel oil into the sea. Three weeks later, on February 10, a Belize-registered offshore supply vessel, Ghareb, sank in the Umm Dalkh oilfield, killing the chief officer.

The introduction of PSC will certainly help to police “maverick” operators who generally flag their vessels with less than reputable flags of convenience and are often not classed or are affiliated to non-IACS organisations of dubious standards.

PSC is a “safety net” to be utilised as an additional assurance that standards are maintained to protect our seafarers and our environment.

Source: gulfnews

This research paper deals in three main sections. The first one is a brief overview of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), its annexes, and regulations, followed by section two with a brief overview of the Port State Control (PSC), and lastly, the third section deals with the interpretation of data extracted from the annual reports of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to assess the effectiveness of MARPOL.

An analysis of MARPOL related deficiencies from all nine MoU has been designed. The annual reports for the past 11 years have been extracted and data relating to total inspections, total deficiencies, and deficiencies with regard to the MARPOL convention, distinguished as per annexes has been extracted and analysed using statistical tools to find out the level of implementation of the code. The extracted data has been categorized to find out the trend of the MARPOL-related deficiencies through the years and to find the annexes of MARPOL with most common and least common non-conformity.

Source: tandfonline

Abstract

Port State Control (PSC) guarantees that foreign ships do not jeopardize marine safety, security, and the environment when entering foreign ports. To share inspection information and improve the efficiency of PSC, countries in the same regions cooperate and follow memoranda of understanding (MoUs). Globally, a total of ten MoUs govern three different inspection regimes designed to select and inspect substandard ships. In this study, we use a super-slacks-based measure (super-SBM) to evaluate and compare the inspection efficiency of the three inspection regimes implemented by these ten MoUs and relies on the Malmquist production index (MPI) to identify the most applicable regimes. Our analyses produce three main conclusions. First, we use the average scores of the super-SBM in the past 11 years to confirm the efficiency rankings of the ten MoUs. Second, we combine the average efficiency scores of the three inspection regimes to show that the New Inspection Regime (NIR) is more economically efficient than other inspection regimes. Third, we use MPI scores to obtain a better understanding of the efficiency changes in MoUs’ productivity over time and confirm that the NIR is more stable than other inspection regimes.

Source: sciencedirect

We have recently seen an increase in Port State Control fines on vessels at Ghanaian ports.

Local inspectors are visiting vessels and paying particular attention to discharge of what they say is untreated wastewater and vessel records concerning garbage and oily water separators.

Fines are as high as USD 60,000.00 and vessels are not allowed to sail until payment of the fine is agreed. The Ghanaian Maritime Authority (GMA) are not open to negotiating the fines. It is suggested that Owners check the local requirements closely with their appointed agent before arriving at Ghanaian ports.

If in doubt, it is recommended that nothing is discharged into local waters when at Ghanaian ports and Masters should ensure all waste records are up to date.

Source: ukpandi

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