The following is the text of an alert from the American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association Inc. (American P&I Club), with links to the questionnaire and other documents:
NEW PORT STATE CONTROL CONCENTRATED INSPECTION CAMPAIGN ON FIRE SAFETY TO COMMENCE ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2012
The 43 maritime authorities of the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) with the purpose of ensuring compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2/ Construction – fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction arrangements on board ships.
This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from September 1, 2012 and ending on November 30, 2012.
In practice, the CIC will mean that, during a regular port state control inspection, conducted under the regional ship selection criteria within the Paris and Tokyo MoU regions, the fire safety arrangements, maintenance records and other applicable documentation will be verified in great detail for compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2.
Port state control officers (PSCOs) will apply an additional questionnaire listing twelve selected items to verify critical areas for the shipboard fire safety systems, some of which are related to documentation, equipment and crew familiarization. The questionnaire has been attached to this Member Alert.
As usual, 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 such deficiencies have been rectified.
In the attached questionnaire, if deficiencies are recorded from questions marked with an asterisk (*), then this may also result in a detention.
Members are advised to ensure that the integrity of fire safety measures onboard their ships are maintained in accordance with applicable rules and regulations and that fire safety systems are operational at all times.
For general requirements as to fire safety systems, reference is made to the IMO’s International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code), which is mandatory under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
Click here to view the alert on the website of the American P&I Club and to access additional documents.
