The Maritime Authorities of the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) to establish that watchkeeping personnel meet the requirements regarding hours of rest as per STCW.

This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from 1 September and ending on 30 November.

Hours of Rest Verified

The deck and engine room watchkeepers’ hours of rest will be verified in more detail for compliance with the mentioned scope of the CIC during a regular Port State Control inspection conducted under the regional ship selection criteria within the Paris and Tokyo MoU regions.

Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a list of ten selected items to establish that watchkeeping personnel are meeting the requirements regarding hours of rest, focusing attention on the Minimum Safe Manning Document (MSMD) and records of rest.

In addition, information will be gathered on the watch system, whether the MSMD requires an Engineer officer and whether the ship is designated UMS (Periodically Unattended Machinery Space).

Port State Actions

For this purpose, PSCOs will apply a questionnaire listing a number of items to be covered during the concentrated inspection campaign. When deficiencies are found, actions by the port state may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified.

It is expected that the Paris and Tokyo MoUs will carry out approximately 10,000 inspections during the CIC. The results of the campaign will be analysed and findings will be presented to the governing bodies of the MoUs for submission to the IMO.