Port state controllers in Europe and Asia will launch an international inspection campaign focused on fire safety.
The purpose of the campaign is to create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of fire safety and to verify that ships are complying with fire safety requirements.
The inspection campaign will be held for three months from 01 September 2023 and ending 30 November 2023.
Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a pre-defined questionnaire to assess that fire-fighting systems and equipment comply with the relevant requirements, that the master and crew members are familiar with operations relating to fire safety, and that equipment is properly maintained and functioning.
The campaign will look at measures such as the condition of emergency escape routes; the condition of fire doors and fire alarm systems; the efficacy of fire pumps; and whether or not fire drills are satisfactory, among other things.
If any deficiencies are found, then the corrective action may range from recording a deficiency up to detaining a ship. The results of the campaign will be presented to the governing bodies of the Paris and the Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding on Port State Control.
Australia’s Port State Controller is the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. AMSA has stated that it will develop and publish a maritime safety bulletin in 2022 / 23 on fire safety with a focus on adapting fire prevention and fire fighting practices to the cargo being carried.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region is known as the Tokyo MoU and it was set up in April 1994. The Tokyo MoU has 21 full members including Australia and its Secretariat is located in Tokyo, Japan.
Port State Control is one of the ways that the safety performance of the international fleet is monitored and checked. In each port state, local officers attend on foreign visiting ships to verify compliance with international rules on safety, pollution, and seafarers’ conditions. Port State Controllers can record deficiencies, require deficiencies to be corrected, and to detain ships for non-compliance and to ensure seaworthiness of a vessel.
A deficiency is any ship condition that is found not to be in compliance with the requirements of the relevant convention (see 1.7.3 “Deficiency” in IMO Resolution A. 1155(32) of 15 December 2021 – Procedures for Port State Control).
The legal basis for Port State Control can be found in Article 218 (and subsequent articles) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea empowers coastal states to carry out investigations and to take action against ships that may be in violation of international standards, or which may threaten damage to the marine environment.
Further reading
“Port State Control” IMO
