From 1st September 2021 until 30th November 2021 a Port State Control (PSC) Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on “Stability in General” will be running. This inspection has been motivated by a number of serious accidents occurring due to incorrect ship loading conditions or missing intact stability documentation on board.
The Paris and Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regions are the main organisers of this campaign, the purpose of which is to create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of calculating the stability of the ship on completion of cargo and operations and before departure of the ship. As well as ensuring that the ship is compliant with intact stability requirements under relevant IMO instruments.
It is expected that 10,000 inspections will be carried out by the Tokyo and Paris MoUs during this three-month period with a pre-defined questionnaire being used by Port State Control Officers (PSCO’s) to assess that information and equipment provided on board is properly maintained and functional. Vessels found to have deficiencies may be subject to actions from the port State which could range from recording the deficiency and instructing the Master to rectify it within a given time frame to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified.
In anticipation of this CIC, it is advisable to review the questionnaire to be used by the PSCO’s which can be viewed here and to ensure that the ship’s crew and equipment are prepared to be able to give affirmative answers to the questions documented.
In short, this means that stability documentation, instruments and calculations should be in place and fully understood by the Master and responsible officers as well as being approved by the current flag state administration. Cargo plans should be accurate to the vessel’s cargo status and be congruent with the stability calculation. The full questionnaire to be used by PSCO’s should be reviewed in its entirety to ascertain the requirements of the CIC.
Vassallo Associates can advise further on this Concentrated Inspection Campaign as well as all aspects of maritime safety, security and surveys. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
