Crack down will focus on ships’ machinery

JULY 30, 2013 — Port state control authorities are to crack down on the safety of propulsion and auxiliary machinery. Countries that are signatories to the the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) checking on ships’ compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-1.

Other MoUs will also carry out a CIC on the same topic during this period.

The scope of the CIC is the safety of propulsion and auxiliary machinery, especially the working order and maintenance of the main engines, auxiliary engines, auxiliary equipment and their related alarm systems.

Special attention will be given to familiarity of the crew with safety and emergency procedures with regard to these systems.

This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from September 1, 2013 and ending on November 30, 2013.

The propulsion and machinery installations will be verified in more detail for compliance with the mentioned scope of the CIC during a regular Port State Control inspection conducted under the regional ship selection criteria within the Paris and Tokyo MoU regions.

Port State Control Officers will use a list of 12 selected items to verify critical areas for the propulsion and auxiliary machinery installations, some of which are related to documentation, main and auxiliary equipment, crew familiarization and operational controls. They will apply a questionnaire listing a number of items to be covered during the concentrated inspection campaign.

When deficiencies are found, actions by may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified. In the case of detention, publication in the monthly detention lists of the Paris and Tokyo MoU web sites will take place.

It is expected that the Paris and Tokyo MoUs will carry out approximately 10,000 inspections during the CIC.

The results of the campaign will be analyzed and findings will be presented to the governing bodies of the MoUs for submission to the IMO.