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One of the important challenges for the maritime industry is to adhere to
the concept of Safe and Clean seas by ensuring that ships are
appropriately maintained as required under the structured safety
management system. While the role of regulatory agencies is critical for
this purpose, a culture of self-regulation may go a long way in ensuring
safety and protection of the marine environment.
2.
During the year 2010, 337 out of estimated 1007 nos.
Indian flag ships were subjected to flag State implementation (FSI) while
they were alongside berth or at anchorage in Indian ports. It was ensured
that unsafe and substandard ships which may cause threat to the safety and
environment did not operate, till deficiencies observed were rectified to
the satisfaction of the concerned FSI officer. Record of each and every
inspection / detention is maintained by PSC/FSI Cell of the Directorate
General of Shipping (DGS), in addition by the concerned Mercantile Marine
Department (MMD). A table of frequently encountered deficiencies and the
list of frequently repeated detainable deficiencies observed during the
inspections under FSI in the year 2010 are enclosed at
Annexure-1
and
Annexure-2
respectively.
3.
It was noted while
reviewing the current FSI regime that its effectiveness could be
considerably enhanced, if :
.1 the information regarding frequently encountered deficiencies
is shared with the management of the shipping companies;
.2 the companies are required to carry out a self-assessment of
their own ships in terms of FSI requirements, followed by a general
inspections by
an R.O. The formal flag State inspection could then be
carried out on these ships based on a
randomised targeting. This
would ensure that all ships undergo some level of
inspection every year, whereby Ship management gets Safety
conscious and the FSI targeting becomes more streamlined. It would also
ensure that ships that are trading in foreign ports over a long period
also get covered under an inspection regime.
4. A meeting was held with the Recognised Organisations (R.Os) in
the Directorate on 10th January, 2011 to discuss the above
concept. The concerned R.O.s, viz., American Bureau of Shipping (ABS),
Bureau Veritas (BV), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Germanischer Lloyd (GL),
Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), Korean Register of Shipping (KR),
Lloyd's Register Asia (LR), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK) and RINA
participated and the concept was discussed. While the modalities of self-
assessment by the Ship management preferably through the Designated Person
Ashore (DPA), are issued separately, the procedure for inspection by an
R.O. are elaborated as under:
5. Indian vessels plying abroad
are invariably classed with an additional IACS member, besides Indian
Register of Shipping (IRS). Both of these R.Os are approved by the
Government of India. Of these two, the R.O. that has carried out nil or
lesser number of statutory surveys of the vessel,
shall carry out a general inspection (GI). While
carrying out the GI, the R.O. shall review the self-assessment carried out
by the company. In a few cases, where such a vessel is classed with an
R.O. which is not approved by the Government of India, the GI could be
done through any one of the R.Os approved by the Govt. of India. The list
of R.Os which are presently approved by the Government of India are
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), Det Norske Veritas
(DNV), Germanischer Lloyd (GL), Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), Lloyd's
Register of Asia (LR), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK).
6.
The GI needs to be
carried out inline with flag State implementation, on Indian flag vessels
abroad as well as on the Indian coast, preferably within three to six
months from the date of last statutory surveys to the extent of annual
surveys. The ROs are required to submit their report to the Directorate in
the enclosed format, in order to decide further necessary action and the
requirement of flag State inspection. However, the existing flag State
inspection mechanism of Mercantile Marine Departments shall continue on
the basis of randomly selected targeting, for vessels available on the
Indian Coast as well as those not visiting Indian ports.
7. GI in respect of vessel which are not dual class, can be done
through any of the recognised ROs as per choice of the owner. It will be
the responsibility of the ship-owners to ensure that their vessels undergo
general inspection by the RO, at least once in a year.
8. Whenever formal FSI is carried out, the FSI officer shall also
review the inspection report of the general inspection and the
self-assessment so that the Directorate can assess the quality of
inspections carried out by the ROs, and the Ship Maintenance Quality so as
to incentivize companies with good safety track record appropriately.
9. If any serious deficiencies are observed by the ROs which in
their judgement may affect the safety of the vessel, crew or marine
environment, they are required to inform the Port State Control cell of
the Directorate forthwith, before vessel is allowed to leave the port.
10. The payment for the services
rendered by the ROs shall be settled by the ship-owners.
11. The report of the general inspection is required to be filled up
by the ROs in the attached
Annexure- 3 (Form A and Form B).
Report along with the checklist duly filled in is required to be forwarded
to the PSC cell of the Directorate.
12. The
check list for the general inspection is attached as
Annexure-4 for
the guidance of surveyors.
13.
The contact details at the Directorate are: psc@dgshipping.com;
kmrao@dgshipping.com; mehrotra@dgshipping.com;
(Tel Nos. 022-25308621, 022- 22656303, 022-22613303, ).
This issues with the approval of the
Director-General of Shipping and ex-officio Addl. Secretary to the Govt.
of India.
Sd/-
(D.Mehrotra)
Dy. Chief Surveyor cum Sr. DDG (tech.)
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