Information by the UK P&I Club
Over the last 8 years deficiencies related to structural safety and load lines account for 15% of the total number of deficiencies found in the Paris MOU region. With this in mind the Paris & Tokyo MOU have conjoined to take part in a joint concentrated inspection campaign (CIC)
Structural safety for ship types other than bulk carriers and compliance with the Load Line Convention in general have never been addressed with the special attention typical for a CIC.
The Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU will be joined by the members of the Viña del Mar Agreement, the Indian Ocean MOU, the Mediterranean MOU and the Black Sea MOU who will follow the same routine during the campaign. This means this concentrated inspection campaign will be in force in some form or another almost world wide. The only regions not covered will be the West African states, The United States and some Caribbean Islands (excepting of course those countries which are not party to any MOU regarding Port state control)
This inspection campaign will begin 1 SEPTEMBER 2011 and will run for 3 months, ending on 30 November 2011.
The focus of Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) during the campaign will be the inspection of documents and aspects such as; loading instruments; the protection of hatch openings;
the vessel’s hull, bulkheads and deck; and other features pertaining to the structural integrity of the vessel as stipulated within the Load Line Convention.
Both the Paris MOU and the Tokyo MOU will be publishing a questionnaire for the guidance of PSCOs which will list a number of items to be covered during this concentrated inspection. The questionnaires will be published on the websites of both the Paris MoU and the Tokyo MoU at the beginning of August.
It is anticipated that deficiencies will result in the following actions:-
- Recording a deficiency against the vessel and instructing the master to rectify the matter(s) within a certain period;
- Detentions for the most serious offences. In these cases, the vessel is to be detained until suitable repairs are carried out and the deficiencies have been rectified.
Hidden costs to the Member in relation to delays will include additional port costs related to the extended stay, fees related to on/off hire disputes and other associated claims related to claims for breaches of charterparty obligations.
In case of detention, the vessel will be entered on to the monthly list of detentions and published on both the Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU web pages.
The results of the campaign are to be analysed with the findings presented to the governing bodies of the MOUs’ for submission to the IMO.
Source: The UK P&I Club
