Ship Notification Information for Masters, Ship Owners & Ship Agents of Foreign Flag Ships.
Why do I need to report to a Paris MoU port State Authority that my ship is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?
Following the Erica and Prestige disasters the EU introduced new legislation through the EU Directive 2001/106/EC.
The Directive introduced the concept of Mandatory Expanded Inspections (MEI’s) on “high risk ships." The Directive requires that high-risk ships must have an expanded inspection carried out by an EU member of the Paris MOU region every 12 months.
The Mandatory Expanded Inspection (MEI) requirement has also been incorporated into the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control and therefore also applies to the non-EU member States of the Paris MoU.
This new legislation came into to effect on 22 July 2003.
How do I know if my ship is considered a “high risk ship”?
The following ships are identified as high-risk:
Oil tankers over 15 years old and over 3000GT
Gas and chemical tankers over 10 years old
Bulk Carrier over 12 years old
Passenger ships over 15 years old (excluding those covered by the EU Ferry Directive)
As the Owner or Master of a “high risk ship” what am I required to do?
If your ship is classed as "high risk", as defined above, and it is more than 12 months since an expanded inspection was carried out by a Port State Control Officer in the Paris MoU region then you must report to the port that your ship is calling at, that you are eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection.
Information must be provided 3 days before the expected time of arrival, or before leaving the previous port if the voyage is expected to take less than 3 days.
How do I report to the port State that my ship is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?
The owner, master or ships agent can inform the relevant port State control office by fax or e-mail, addresses can be found here, that your ship is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection.
It is acceptable that the information (form) in .pdf or (form) in .doc is sent via your agent that is assigned for your port of arrival, however the Master of the ship remains responsible that the reporting obligation to the port State is fulfilled.
What happens next?
Upon receipt of your notification the port State authority may contact the master or ship owner either directly or via the ship’s agent to confirm whether or not the port State authority will attend the ship to carry out the MEI.The ship could be instructed to make certain preparations for inspection, e.g. by opening up ballast tanks.
What happens if I report that my ship is eligible for a mandatory expanded inspection and the port State does not attend the ship whilst I am in a Paris MoU port?
As stated above the port State may respond to the master or owner either directly or via the ships’ agent. If they do not intend to carry out the MEI then the reason for this could be stated in a reply fax.
The master, owner or agent of a ship will still need to continue to report to each Paris MoU port, giving 3 days notice or prior to departure from the previous port if less than 3 days.
If the ship is eligible for a MEI and for some reason the port State authority is unable to attend the ship to carry out an MEI then the port State authority will inform the ship’s next port of call within the Paris MoU region and ask them to carry out the MEI. As a matter of caution and to avoid confusion it is best practice if the owner, master or agent also notifies the next port of call within the Paris MoU region.
What if I don’t report to a Paris MoU Authority that my ship is due for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?
Failure to report to the port State that your ship is eligible for a mandatory expanded inspection is an offence.
A ship that has not provided advance information as required, that is then identified by a port State Authority to be eligible for a MEI will be subject to the inspection and may risk delay due to the involved nature of the inspection. The ship also risks that a penalty (fine) is imposed when not fulfilling the reporting obligation.