THE PARIS MOU NEW INSPECTION REGIME (NIR) MOVES FORWARD
[16.05.2006]
The Paris MoU new inspection regime (NIR) moves forward
During the 39th session of the Paris MoU Port State Control Committee (PSCC) held at Nantes – France between 9th -12th May delegates made significant progress in their deliberations over requirements for a New Inspection Regime and a New Information System. A number of relevant studies were completed and presented to the Committee. The Committee discussed these matters and accepted a positive way forward.
On the first day of the PSCC meeting, Cyprus, Lithuania and Malta were welcomed as full members of the Paris MoU. Cyprus and Malta were congratulated on having achieved a position on the Paris MoU White List through careful and continued monitoring of their fleet performance.
Bulgaria and Romania will be considered for full membership to the Paris MoU in 2007. It was stated by the Chairman that it was very encouraging to see the Paris MoU becoming an influence on sub-standard ships in the Black Sea Region.
One of the main items on the agenda was the proposal of a common training programme of Port State Control Officers (PSCOs). Papers were presented by the European Commission (EC) and Paris MoU Secretariat on this essential subject. The general principles of setting common and consistent standards, providing training to PSCOs and the continued updating of technical knowledge were embraced. A number of initiatives will be financed and developed jointly by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the MoU Secretariat and member states.
A very important document on the Code of Good Practice for PSCOs was developed and agreed by the Committee. For transparency the Code will be made available to the public. It is intended to enhance the professionalism and integrity of the Paris MoU and it is hoped it will serve as an example to other PSC regions.
The Chairman welcomed the resumption of the development of an electronic tool for PSCOs to check the application of legislation.
The Committee was presented with the proposal for a new user friendly electronic manual for PSCOs. The manual is regarded as an important and effective tool for assisting PSCOs in their work and makes use of the advances of current information technologies.
The Committee continued to develop actions in response to the 2nd Joint Paris/Tokyo MOU Ministerial Conference, held in Vancouver in 2004 and gave high importance to Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CICs). Scheduled for 2007 is a CIC on the ISM Code to be carried out from September to November 2007 jointly with the Tokyo MoU.
In addition to the ISM Code CIC the Committee considered a number of options for joint CICs with the Tokyo MoU for 2008 and beyond.
A CIC on Navigation SOLAS Chapter V including Passage Planning, Voyage Data Recorder, Automatic Identification System and Electronic Chart Display and Information System will be carried out during 2008.
The report on the GMDSS CIC held from September to November 2005 was presented to the Committee and will be submitted to the IMO Secretariat.
The report of the CIC Marpol Annex I carried out in February, March and April of this year will be presented to the 40th Session of PSCC in Germany in 2007.
The PSCC Chairman, Mr. Brian Hogan from the Department of Transport of Ireland, thanked the PSCOs throughout the Paris MoU Region for their conscientious work.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The Maritime Authority of France hosted the 39th meeting of the executive committee of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in Nantes between 9-12 May 2006.
Port State Control is a check on visiting foreign ships to see that they comply with international rules on safety, pollution prevention and seafarers living and working conditions. It is a means of enforcing compliance where the owner and flag State have failed in their responsibility to implement or ensure compliance. The port State can require defects to be rectified and if necessary detain the ship for this purpose. It is therefore also a port State’s defence against visiting substandard shipping.
Regional Port State Control was initiated in 1982 when fourteen European countries agreed to co-ordinate their port State inspection effort under a voluntary agreement known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU). Current membership includes 25 countries, with an increase of 27 in the near future. The European Commission, although not a signatory to the Paris MoU, is also a member of the Committee.
Inspection reports are recorded on a central database SIReNaC located in St Malo - France, available for search and daily updating by MoU member countries. Inspection results can be viewed on the Paris MoU public website and are also provided to the Equasis public database.
The Secretariat of the MoU is provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and located in The Hague.
The Paris MoU has been a blueprint for the introduction of regional regimes of port State control in the Asia Pacific Rim (Tokyo MoU), Latin America (Viña del Mar), the Mediterranean, Caribbean and other emerging regional port State control regimes. Canada and Russia are members of both the Paris MoU and the Tokyo MoU.
This is the first PSCC meeting chaired by Mr. Brian Hogan. Mr Hogan is currently the Chief Surveyor of the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport in Ireland. He has a background in ship surveying both with government and recognised organisations and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.
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