The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) has published a questionnaire for the forthcoming port state control (PSC) joint concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) on safety of navigation.
The questionnaire will be used by PSC officers for vessel inspections during the campaign, which starts on September 1, 2017, and ends on November 30, 2017.
Earlier, the Tokyo and the Paris MoU on PSC revealed plans to launch a joint CIC on safety of navigation. The CIC will also include participation by the Black Sea MoU and Indian Ocean MoU.
The aim of the CIC is to check compliance with the applicable requirements of the SOLAS Convention, the overall status of the vessel’s navigation safety, and the competency of the crew involved in navigation operation.
A ship will only be subject to one inspection under this CIC during the period of the campaign.
Navigation equipment has always been major inspection items for PSC inspections, according to the Paris MoU.
In 2008, the Tokyo MoU and the Paris MoU conducted a joint CIC for SOLAS Chapter V concerning safety of navigation. The regulations for navigation equipment have undergone frequent changes according to a series of amendments to SOLAS Chapter V.
Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) has assisted watchkeepers to maintain navigation safety and reduce the navigational workload since its application. Deficiencies relating to navigation equipment contribute a major proportion of the total deficiencies. From 2009 to 2016, a total of 174,559 deficiencies concerning safety of navigation were recorded, accounting for 15.27% of all deficiencies, the Paris MoU organization said.
Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a list of 12 questions to assure that navigation equipment carried onboard complies with the relevant statutory certificates, the master and navigation officers are qualified and familiar with operation of bridge equipment, especially ECDIS, and that navigation equipment is properly maintained and functioning.
If deficiencies are found, actions by the port state may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period of time to detaining the ship until the serious deficiencies have been rectified.
It is expected that the Tokyo and Paris 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.