Duties, Role and Responsibilities of Flag State:
- Registering Ships and Issuing Statutory Certificates:
The owner, who intends to obtain statutory certificates for his ship is first required to obtain the ship’s Certificate of Registry from the Flag State Administration. Having done so, the Owner has to submit a written application to the certifying authority for the issue of the statutory certificates. This certifying authority may be the Flag State, or Classification Society or Recognized Organization which act on behalf of the Flag State. The Flag State must maintain its own register of ships. - Carrying Out Surveys:
Flag State must carry out the surveys at prescribed intervals. These surveys are annual (yearly), intermediate (2.5 years) and renewal (5 years). - Rewriting a Statutory Certificate:
The Flag State must re-write a statutory certificate when the descriptions on a statutory certificate are to be changed, and a written application in this regard has been received from the Owner or the master of the ship. The ship’s certificate of Registry must also be submitted for this. After issuing the re-written certificate, the Flag State must cancel the older certificate. - Reissuing a Statutory Certificate:
When a statutory certificate is soiled or lost, the Flag State shall re-issue the certificate on receiving a written application from the Owner or Master of the ship in this regard. - Endorsing a Statutory Certificate:
On receiving a written application from the Owner or the master of a ship, for an endorsement on a statutory certificate, the Flag State shall endorse the certificate received along with the application. - Making Rules for Validity of Certificates:
The Flag State shall make rules governing the validity of ship’s statutory certificates and also rules related to the cessation of validity and cancellation of the certificate. - Receiving Statutory Certificate from Ship:
Flag State must receive the statutory certificates from the ship in the following circumstances,
a) When the ship sinks or is scrapped
b) The Class is withdrawn
c) Validity of the certificate is expired.
d) When revised certificate is issued.
e) When the original (lost) one is found after a new certificate is issued. - Ratifying and implementing international conventions
The Flag State must attend the International Conferences and sign, ratify (if needed) and thereafter implement the international conventions so ratified. The Flag State must also attend IMO Committee meetings (MEPC / MSC) - Setting, monitoring and enforcing international standards:
The Flag State must set, monitor and enforce standards of safety and pollution prevention on all its vessels. It should also enforce international standards of safety and pollution prevention on foreign ships visiting the
State’s ports. The Flag State must also enforce statutory merchant shipping regulations (MS Act). International standards of competency amongst seafarers must also be enforced. - Inspection of vessel:
Flag State may carry out survey and inspection of its vessels to ensure that all vessels are complying with the statutory and international requirements. - Accident Investigation:
The Flag State shall carry out investigation of accidents involving its own ships and ships of other Flags when in the State’s waters. - Approving Equipment:
The Flag State shall carry out approval of vessel’s equipment under various International regulations. For example, GMDSS equipment, Fire fighting appliances, etc. - Flag State Representatives:
The Flag State must maintain diplomatic representatives, usually the ambassador or consular officers. - Assisting Vessel’s:
The Flag State must assist the vessel in cases of emergencies, detention or arrests. The Flag State must promptly solve the problems regarding statutory matters. The Flag State may advice on safety matters and may also advice the Master on commercial matters.
PORT STATE CONTROL:
Port State Control (PSC) is the inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of the International regulations and that the ship is properlymanned and operated in compliance with these rules.
PSC is thus a regional ship inspection program, under which countries work together to verify the foreign vessels entering their waters are in compliance with the International maritime regulations, regarding safety,
security, pollution prevention, manning, etc.
The objective of the PSC is to identify sub-standard ships, and help to eliminate the threat that they pose to life, property and the marine environment. Ships that are found to be in serious violation of regulations
are detained in port until their deficiencies have been rectified.
Port State inspections complement Flag State’s efforts and have become a valuable tool for enforcing international standards and regulations.
Port States have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to form regional PSC organizations. For example, the Tokyo MoU, Paris MoU, etc. Port States in a region, as members of a MoU, harmonize their inspections to avoid duplication of efforts. They follow similar inspection guidelines and share the results of their inspection.
The prime responsibility for compliance with the regulations lies with the ship owner or operator. An adverse PSC report may have severe commercial implications.
“No more favourable treatment” (NMFT) shall be given to the ships flying flag of a country which is not Party to a convention. PSC will make sure that even these ships undergo equivalent surveys and inspections so that an equivalent level of safety and protection of marine environment is ensured.
PSC inspections are carried out by PSC officers who are duly authorized by the Port State. This authorization of PSCO’s may be a general grant of authority or may be specific on a case by case basis.
Memorandum of Understanding on PSC
To avoid PSC, a ship operator could divert his substandard ships to ports where there are no PSC inspections or PSC inspections are less stringent. This would endanger the vessel’s crew and marine environment of the port States in the region concerned. Further, it would affect the competitiveness of ports within a region, if there was no level playing field.
To address these concerns and to improve the general effectiveness of inspections, regional PSC organizations have been formed by countries based on the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).
There are several MoU’s on PSC, that are signed by a particular group of countries, virtually covering major seas of the world to weed out the sub standard ships. These include the following:
- Paris MoU
- Tokyo MoU
- Caribbean MoU
- Mediterranean MoU
- Indian Ocean MoU
- Abuja MoU
- Vina Del Mar MoU
- Black Sea MoU
- Riyadh MoU
- Each of these nine MoU’s has common objectives and customized procedures have been developed for targeting substandard ships, appeal procedures, detention reviews, evaluation of performance parameters, etc.
- Most of these MoU’s run special inspection programmes on specific shipboard operational areas and for a specific period of time. These inspection programmes are called ‘Concentrated Inspection Campaigns’
(CIC). For example, a CIC on Enclosed Space Procedures, or on MLC 2006, or on Cargo Securing Arrangements, etc.
DETENTION:
When deficiencies are found onboard ships, action by the Port State may vary from recording a deficiency to detention of the ship until the deficiencies have been rectified.
Detention is the intervention action taken by the Port State when the condition of the ship or its crew does not correspond substantially with the applicable conventions, to ensure that the ship will not sail out until it can
proceed to sea without presenting a danger to the ship or persons onboard, or without presenting a threat to the marine environment, whether or not such action will affect the normal schedule of the vessel.
Detention means that the ship and the cargo would not be able to perform the contract of carriage. Ships under detention cannot continue the voyage and arrive at the destination port as stated in the Contract in the specified time assigned in the contract. Hence, as a result of detention, the contract of carriage is discharged.
The PSC requires a ship already detained to remedy the deficiency responsible for its detention. If the deficiencies cannot be remedied in the port of inspection, the port State may allow the ship to proceed to another port under special condition. The ship becomes free of detention only when all the fees for inspection and subsequent detention is paid by the ship owner.
PSC INSPECTION
PSCO’s shall use their “professional judgement” in carrying out all their duties and shall consult others whenever required.
A PSCO may proceed to the ship and before boarding, assess as a ‘first impression’, the standard of maintenance, by looking at the condition of paint work, corrosion, pitting or unrepaired damage.
When boarding a ship, the PSCO shall present to the master or other representative of the Owner, the PSCO identity card. This card shall be accepted as documented evidence that the PSCO in question is duly
authorized by the Administration of the Port State, to carry out the PSC inspection.
On meeting the ship’s Master, the PSCO shall examine the vessel’s relevant certificates and documents. If the certificates are valid, all documents are in order, and the PSCO’s general impression and visual observation on board confirm a good standard of maintenance, the PSCO would generally confine the inspection to reported or observed deficiencies, if any.
If, however, the PSCO from the general impression and visual observation onboard, has ‘clear grounds’ to believe that the ship, its equipment or crew, do not substantially meet the requirements, the PSCO is more likely to proceed with a ‘more detailed inspection’. If this is the case, the Master must be informed of these grounds.
The PSCO shall advise the Master if he requires the Flag State or RO responsible for issuing the relevant certificates, to be approached or having their presence onboard.
In case the inspection is initiated on the basis of a complaint or report, especially if it is from a crew member, the source of information must not be disclosed.
When exercising control, all possible efforts shall be made to avoid a ship from being unduly detained or delayed. It should be borne in mind that the main objective is to prevent a unsafe ship from proceeding to sea. For this, the PSCO must use his professional judgement in determining if the ship is a threat to safety or environment and needs to be detailed till deficiencies are rectified or if the ship can be allowed to sail with certain deficiencies, taking into account the prospective voyage she intends to undertake.
If a ship is allowed to sail with deficiencies, the PSCO should ensure that the competent authority of the next port of call and the Flag State of the ship are duly informed.
The company or its representatives have the ‘right to appeal’ against a detention enforced by a Port State. The appeal shall not cause the detention to be suspended. It is the duty of the PSCO to inform the master about the ‘right to appeal’.
When the grounds for detention are the consequences of accidental damage suffered on the ship’s voyage to a port, no detention order shall be issued.
