Port state to focus on stability issues

Ships and their equipment should always be maintained in such a way as to ensure safe operations and smooth Port State Control (PSC) inspections. However, targeted PSC inspections announced in advance, like the yearly Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CIC), serve as timely reminders for companies and seafarers to focus on specific areas where a higher risk of accidents and/or non-compliance with international safety regulations could exist.

This year’s joint CIC by the Tokyo and Paris MoUs on stability in general has reportedly been prompted by several serious incidents including incorrect ship loading conditions and missing intact stability documentation onboard. The CIC will run from 1 September to 30 November 2021 and, at the time of writing, it has been announced that the Black Sea, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Riyadh and Viña del Mar MOUs will also participate in the campaign.

Like previous years, the CIC will be included as an additional part of routine PSC inspections during the campaign period and attending PSC Officers (PSCOs) will use a questionnaire tailored to verify specific topics and areas relevant to the CIC. 

The questionnaire contains eight check points and aims not only to verify that a ship complies with the stability requirements under the relevant IMO instruments, but also to confirm that a ship’s crew are familiar with assessing the actual stability condition before departure, and to create awareness about the importance of calculating the actual stability condition. Hence, attending PSC Officers (PSCO) are likely to focus on:

• ships’ stability documentation (stability booklet, loading manuals, etc.) and loading calculations (loading computer and software, loading documents, etc.)

• responsible officers’ familiarization with the above, as well as

• companies’ ability to respond to emergencies which require stability calculations, such as grounding, flooding, list due to shifting of cargo, etc.

We strongly encourage Members and clients to use this CIC as a reminder of the importance of ensuring readiness of the shore organization, crew and equipment in case of emergencies that may lead to loss of stability. Operators of car carriers should also take a look at our alert “Do not depart port without knowing the final cargo weight distribution” of 3 June 2021.

Additional sources of information:

• Antigua and Barbuda Maritime Administration Information Notice No. 2021-003: “Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CICs)”

• Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands Guidance Note 05/2021: “Forthcoming PSC Concentrated and Focused Inspection Campaigns, 2021”

• DNV PSC News of 10 August 2021: “CIC – Focusing on Stability in General”

Links to the MoU organisations’ websites:

• Paris MoU: www.parismou.org / press release

• Tokyo MoU: www.tokyo-mou.org / press release

• Black Sea MoU: www.bsmou.org / press release

• Indian Ocean MoU: www.iomou.org / press release

• Mediterranean MOU: http://www.medmou.org

• Riyadh MoU: www.riyadhmou.org

• Viña del Mar Agreement: http://sites.prefecturanaval.gov.ar

• Abuja MOU: http://www.abujamou.org

• Caribbean MOU: http://www.caribbeanmou.org