PSC
Guidance to RMI Vessel for Improvement of Compliance in US
RMI has issued a Marine Notice MN-05-034-5 with the intent to inform and raise the awareness of shipowners, operators, Masters, and officers and Recognized Organizations (ROs) of the recent increase in detentions of vessels, including Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) flagged vessels, calling in United States (US) ports and to reinforce performance and compliance measures as provided for in the RMI Maritime Act (MI-107) and RMI Regulations (MI-108).
These performance and compliance measures are for the benefit of the entire RMI registered fleet and are not intended to penalize a ship, its crew, shipowners, or operators. All vessels calling at any port, including US ports, are required to comply fully with national and international standards for safety, security, environmental protection and the welfare of seafarers.
The RMI Maritime Administrator has noted a marked increase in the number of ships being detained due to a single substandard condition. Although the Administrator frequently publishes Marine Notices (MNs), Marine Safety Advisories (MSAs) and other guidance regarding prevention methods, substandard conditions are still being found during port State control (PSC) examinations and other boardings. Such conditions include:
• a blocked or tied open quick closing fuel oil valve;
• the hypermist fire extinguishing system not ready for use, not lined up in automatic mode or with the water supply valve shut rather than open;inoperable oily water separator (OWS) or oil content meter (OCM) or not being able to demonstrate proper operation of the OWS and OCM;
• failure of the crew to adequately carry out a fire or abandon ship drill;
• items such as smoke detectors rendered inoperable by actions of the crew;
• substandard cleanliness or condition of the engine room; and/or
• failure to report inoperable equipment, such as fire dampers or other fire protection and extinguishing systems; and/or emergency fire pumps not fully operational or not able to take suction in ballast condition.
In the first two quarters of the 2015 calendar year, the detention rate of RMI flagged vessels in US ports has increased to a level more than double the previous year. At this current rate and without the attention of all parties involved in the operation of a ship, it is likely that the RMI will not be able to sustain its US Coast Guard (USCG) QUALSHIP 21 status.
Notice also contains a critical item checklist which needs to be submitted to Flag administration prior arrival US.
CLICK HERE TO READ NOTICE
USCG Reminder and Ref to Industry Guidelines on Fuel Switch Over
USCG has added industry guidance in the safety alert (02/15) as a reminder to vessel owners and operators about the importance of establishing effective fuel oil changeover procedures to comply with MARPOL Annex VI emission regulations.
Recently, there have been several reported incidents involving substantial machinery space fuel leakages while vessels were switching fuel oil to ensure compliance. Although such leakages were contained, fuel releases of any kind may result in pollution, injury or death of personnel and shipboard engine room fires. Moreover, many losses of propulsion have occurred in different ports and have been associated with changeover processes and procedures.
On January 1, 2015, the new fuel oil sulfur limit authorized by MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 14.3.4 came into effect, lowering fuel sulfur content from 1.0% to 0.10%. The 0.10% fuel sulfur content must be used the entire time the vessel is operating in the North American and U.S.
Caribbean Sea Emission Control Areas (ECA). As a result, vessels using higher sulfur content fuels must change to ultra low sulfur (ULS) fuel oil to comply. The vessels must use the ULS fuel oil on inbound and outbound transits, at the dock, and anytime within the ECA. Meeting this requirement requires planning and analysis before any changeover from higher sulfur content fuel oil to ECA compliant fuel oil and vice-versa. Each ship which uses higher sulfur content fuel oil is required to develop and implement changeover procedures for switching between residual and distillate fuels in accordance with MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 14.6.
Source: USCG
Paris MoU to Conduct CIC on Maritime Labour Convention in 2016
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) held its 48th Committee meeting in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, from 18 – 22 May 2015 under the chairmanship of Mr. Brian Hogan. The meeting was officially opened by the Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen.
The meeting was attended by members of the Paris MoU, the European Commission, EMSA, Montenegro, observers from the International Labour Organization, US Coast Guard, Viña del Mar Agreement, Tokyo MoU, Caribbean MoU, Mediterranean MoU, Indian Ocean MoU, Abuja MoU and Black Sea MoU.
High importance was given to the Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CICs). After the entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC2006) in 2013 the Committee decided on carrying out a CIC in 2016 to verify compliance with the Convention. The questionnaire and guidelines for this CIC have been completed and adopted by the Paris MoU Committee at its present session.
Secretary General Richard Schiferli expressed the view of the Committee that this decision demonstrated the importance to the Paris MoU of decent working and living conditions onboard ships, as well as ensuring that seafarers’ rights are respected.
New Performance (White, Gray & Black List) List by Paris MOU
At its 48th meeting last month, the Paris MoU Committee approved the 2014 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and Recognized Organizations. These lists will take effect from 1 July 2015.
The “White, Grey and Black (WGB) List” presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a 3-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period.
On the “White, Grey and Black list” for 2014, a total number of 72 flags are listed: 43 on the “White List”, 19 on the “Grey List” and 10 on the “Black list”. In 2013 the number of flags listed totalled 75 flags, namely 46 on the “White List”, 19 on the “Grey List” and 10 on the “Black List”.
The “White List” represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record. Compared with 2013, the number of flags on the “White List” has decreased by 3 flags to a total number of 43 flags. New on the “White List” is India, which was on the “Grey List” last year.
France has been placed highest on the list in terms of performance for the third year in a row. The next in line of the best performing flags in 2014 are Hong Kong, Bahamas, Norway and Sweden.
Flags with an average performance are shown on the “Grey List”. Their appearance on this list may act as an incentive to improve and move to the “White List”. At the same time flags at the lower end of the “Grey List” should be careful not to neglect control over their ships and risk ending up on the “Black List” next year.
On this year’s “Grey List” a total number of 19 flags is recorded. Last year the “Grey List” also recorded 19 flags. New on the “Grey List” are Spain, Lithuania, Poland and Thailand, which last year were on the “White List”.
Belize has fallen from the “Grey List” to the “Black List”. The poorest performing flags are the United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Moldova, Togo, Cook Islands and Dominica.
For several years the Committee has closely monitored the performance of classification societies acting as ROs or flags. To calculate the performance of the Recognized Organizations, the same formula to calculate the excess factor of the flags is used. A minimum number of 60 inspections per RO are needed before the performance is taken into account for the list. In 2014 37 ROs are recorded on the performance list.
Among the best performing Recognized Organizations were:
- DNV GL AS (DNVGL)
- Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
- Lloyd’s Register (LR)
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
- China Classification Society (CCS)
The lowest performing Recognized Organizations were:
- INCLAMAR
- International Register of Shipping (IS)
- Bulgarian Register of Shipping (BRS)
Compared with last year’s performance level, a small shift in RO performance in 2014 can be noticed. This year fewer organisations have been placed in the very low and low performing parts of the list and more organisations have been placed in the medium part of the list.
On 1 July 2015 the performance lists will be used for calculating the ship risk profile and flags on the “Grey List” and “Black List” are subject to the more stringent banning measures in force since 1 January 2011. More information can be found in the 2014 Annual Report, which will be released in July 2015.
This time Paris MOU released a single list for Flag state and ROs.
Source: Paris MOU
Black Sea MOU CIC 2015
The BS MOU would join in with the Paris MOU and the Tokyo MOU to conduct a CIC on Crew Familiarization for Enclosed Space Entry which will be carried out from 1st September to 30th November 2015.
This announcement has been published in its annual report for 2014.
Earlier Tokyo and Paris MOU announced the said CIC.
Source: BS MOU
Black Sea MOU Annual PSC Report 2014
Black Sea MOU released its Annual Report on Port State Control under the auspices of the Port State Control Committee of the Black Sea MOU.
This PSC Annual report covers the period between 1st January and 31st December 2014. During this period the BS MOU member Authorities conducted a total of 5,092 initial inspections, representing 0.24 per cent increase as compared with 5,080 initial inspections in 2013. The regional inspection rate is 69.41% which is 5.80% increase compared with 2013. A total of 151 detentions were warranted to ships found with serious deficiencies. This represents a detention percentage of 2.97% which is 0.65% decrease as compared with 184 detentions in 2013. During 2014 a total of 18,350 deficiencies were recorded. The average number of deficiencies per inspection was 3.60; resulting in a 0.14 deficiency point improvement.
The overall detention percentage in the region was 3.62% in 2013; in 2014 it decreased down to 2.97% as a percent of inspections, rather than the number of individual ships inspected to take into account that many ships are detained more than once during any one year.
Among the participating country of the MOU Russia recorded the maximum detention rate of 5.08%.
The BS MOU currently has 6 members, some with dual or even triple membership: Bulgaria, Romania and the Russian Federation with the Paris MOU, while the Russian Federation is also a member of the Tokyo MOU, with Turkey there is further tie with the MED MOU.
Source: BS MOU
NOAD Schema 3.5 Officially Released & Infopath Set to Retire
As part of ongoing efforts to enhance maritime domain awareness, Coust Guard continue to improve handling of essential data contained within Notices of Arrival and Departure (NOAD). On Tuesday, 26 May 2015, an updated NOAD schema, versioned 3.5, was released which will reflect recently released changes to 33 CFR 160 and improvements to vessel/crew longshoreman data reporting. With the release of NOAD Schema 3.5, NOAD Schema 3.3 and older versions will no longer be supported.
A link to the final rule is provided at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-01-30/pdf/2015-01331.pdf.
Schema Change Details
The official Schema 3.5 XSD can be found at https://developer.nvmc.uscg.gov in the Developer Resource Files.
The following is a list of the specific changes from Schema 3.4 to Schema 3.5
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/NOTICE_DETAILS/VERSION
Change Details:
The only acceptable value for this field under Schema 3.5 will be “3.5” (not including the quotation marks)
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/VOYAGE/LESS_THAN_24HR
Change Details:
A new element named LESS_THAN_24HR has been added and will be used to indicate whether or not the vessel is on a voyage which is less than 24 hours in duration. This will be a REQUIRED element within the schema and the acceptable values for the element are Yes or No
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/VESSEL/LONGSHOREMAN_WORK_DECLARATION
Change Details:
The element LONGSHOREMAN_WORK_DECLARATION remains a REQUIRED element at the vessel level, however, a choice of NOT APPLICABLE has been added to the existing choices of NOT PROVIDED, Yes, No.
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/VESSEL/MMSI_NUMBER
Change Details:
A new element named MMSI_NUMBER has been added and will be used to indicate the vessel’s MMSI Number, if available. This 9-digit element will use the MMSI SHIP format which consists of the following: The first three digits indicate the country to which the vessel is registered. These are called the Maritime Identification Digits (MID). The remaining six digits range in value from 0-9 for each digit. These digits serve as the Ship Station Identifier. This is an OPTIONAL element within the schema, but may be subject to certain Business Rules during processing.
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/VESSEL/LESS_THAN_300GT
Change Details:
A new element named LESS_THAN_300GT has been added and will be used to indicate whether or not the vessel’s gross tonnage is less that 300. This will be a REQUIRED element within the schema and the acceptable values for the element are Yes or No
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/VESSEL/VESSEL_TONNAGE
Change Details:
A new element named VESSEL_TONNAGE has been added and will be used to indicate the tonnage of the vessel. This will be an OPTIONAL element within the schema, however, if included, the acceptable range of values is 1 to 9999999. Note that ITC tonnage convention is preferred, but not required.
Affected Element:
//NOTICE/CREW_LIST/CREW/LONGSHOREMAN_WORK_DECLARATION
Change Details:
The element LONGSHOREMAN_WORK_DECLARATION has been changed to an OPTIONAL element at the crew member level, however, if provided, the acceptable choices remain as NOT PROVIDED, Yes, No.
Picklist Updates
The domestic port additions are included in the Schema 3.5 release:
Port Name: Belle River Fleeting
State: Louisiana
Port Name: Sterlington
State: Louisiana
Port Name: Ottawa
State: Illinois
Port Name: Pekin
State: Illinois
Port Name: Peru
State: Illinois
Port Name: Wood River
State: Illinois
Port Name: Calvert City
State: Kentucky
Port Name: Catlettsburg
State: Kentucky
Port Name: Paducah
State: Kentucky
Port Name: Wickcliffe
State: Kentucky
Port Name: Charleston
State: West Virginia
Port Name: Congo
State: West Virginia
Port Name: Institute
State: West Virginia
Port Name: Point Pleasant
State: West Virginia
Additionally, the following port updates have been made:
• The domestic port of Mt Vernon, IN was renamed to Mount Vernon, IN
• The foreign port of “SIHEUNG-DONG/SEOUL ” was found to have a space at the end of its name, this space was removed.
InfoPath Retirement
Please note that the InfoPath template is in the process of being retired and as such no Schema 3.5 based InfoPath template will be released during this schema update. For those currently using the InfoPath template, there are other offline tools, including but not limited to the NVMC Workbooks, which can be used as a replacement. For additional information you may contact the National Vessel Movement Center using the contact method of your choice which can be found at http://www.nvmc.uscg.gov/NVMC/ContactUs.aspx.
Source: NVMC
PSC Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) for Year 2015
Tokyo MOU governing body met for its 25th Meeting Queenstown, New Zealand, from 10 to 13 November 2014. CIC for year 2015, 2016 and 2017 was taken up and was decided that CIC on Crew Familiarization for Enclosed Space Entry that will be carried out from 1 September to 30 November 2015.
As seen in past, this CIC shall also be carried out jointly with Paris MOU and we are sure that other MOUs will also join this.
Paris MOU held its 84th Committee meeting last week and they have agreed to jointly with Tokyo MOU carry out CIC on Crew Familiarization for Enclosed Space Entry.
Loss of life during this hazardous activity has been concern for the industry for long and enclosed space entry drills and training at interval of 2 months became mandatory under amendments to SOLAS wef 01st Jan 2015.
CO2 Monitoring Mechanism in the European Union
European Parliament and of the Council approved Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 approved dealing mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change.
The objective of this Resolution is to establish a European system for monitoring, reporting and verifying CO2 emissions from ships.
The Resolution applies to ships of 5000 gross tonnage and above, in terms of CO2 emissions from ships on course from the last port of departure to the port of arrival at a port under the jurisdiction of an EU Member State and voyages from the port of call under the jurisdiction of an EU Member State to the next port of call, as well as well as within ports of call under the jurisdiction of a Member State.
This resolution is not applicable to navy ships naval auxiliaries, fish-catching or fish-processing ships, wooden ships of a primitive build, ships not propelled by mechanical means, or government ships used for non-commercial purposes.
As per the provisions of the Resolution:
- By 31 August 2017 shipowners, other organisations or persons which has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the ship from the shipowner, shall submit to the verifiers a CO2 emission Monitoring Plan for their every ship, indicating which of the four monitoring methodologies:
a) bunker fuel delivery notes,
b) bunker fuel tank monitoring on board,
c) flow meters for applicable combustion processes, or
d) direct CO2 emissions measurement,
are selected for monitoring and reporting CO2 emission and providing other essential information relating to reduction of ship emissions. - From January 1, 2018 shipowners, or other organisations responsible for ship operation, shall monitor CO2 emission from every ship, in every journey and in annual intervals using the Monitoring Plan applying the relevant methodology for specifying CO2 emission and calculating the emission level.
- From 2019 shipowners, or other organisations responsible for ship operation, shall submit a CO2 emissions report and other essential information, for the entire reporting period for every ship for which they are responsible, verified to the satisfaction of the verifies, to the European Commission and relevant national Flag States by 30 April each year
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