Black Sea MOU - New Inspection Regime

 

The Black Sea (BS) MOU had announced that their new inspection regime, BS-IR (2016), will be in force from 1 January 2016. 

 

The new regime will apply a risk-based approach for selecting ships to be inspected and brings the BS MOU in line with the leading memorandums Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU.

 

Under BS-IR (2016), scope, frequency and priority of inspections will depend on a “ship’s risk profile”. Each ship’s risk profile will be determined by Port State Control (PSC) data and the ship’s historical data. 

 

Ship type, age and flag will have an impact, and the company’s past performance and the number of times the ship has been detained will also play important roles in the new system.

 

There will be two categories of inspections:

1.Periodic inspections are based on a time window determined by the ship’s risk profile. High risk ships will be due for an inspection 2-4 months after their last inspection in the BS MOU region. The corresponding time windows for average and low risk ships are 5-8 months and 9-18 months respetively.

 

2.Additional inspections are triggered by overriding or unexpected factors, e.g. if a ship is reported by another Member State, did not comply with the reporting obligations, has been previously detained, etc. Depending on the severity of the occurrence an additional inspection between periodic inspections could be requested.

 

Since periodic inspections and additional inspections are equal, the time span for the next periodic inspection restarts after an additional inspection.

 

Gard’s Members and client operating in the Black Sea region should note the changes taking effect from 1 January 2016 and be prepared for the potential changes in the PSC inspection rates in the region. 

 

With the new regime in force, PSC can direct more of their resources to ships with a poor safety record while rewarding quality ship operators with a reduced inspection burden.