NL 297/24 | Liberia Marine Operations Note 02/2024 – Inventory of Hazardous Materials and Ready for Recycling
Refers to: Ship Owners/ Managers/ Operators of Liberian Vessels, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Immediate
By this message we would like to inform you regarding the Liberia Marine Operations Note 02/2024 – Inventory of Hazardous Materials and Ready for Recycling.
The purpose of subject Technical Circular is to inform all interested parties that the Liberian Registry has issued Marine Operations Note 02/2024 which supersedes Marine Operations Note 06/2023, regarding “Inventory of Hazardous Materials and Ready for Recycling”. The following changes have been included under Hazardous Materials Survey and Certification:
• From 1 April 2024, all surveys under The Hong Kong Convention of all ships in service registered or registering with Liberia will be conducted by the Administration.
Thus, please note that as of 1 April 2024, PHRS is only authorized to conduct the initial survey under the Hong Kong Convention (and EU SRR) for new-building ships registered or registering with Liberia, and issue the interim International Certificate on Inventory of Hazardous Materials for a period of five (5) months. The Interim International Certificate on IHM along with the survey report and IHM Part I shall be submitted to the Administration at RegsandStandards@liscr.com, for issuance of the full term International Certificate on IHM.
For more information please review the relevant Marine Operation Note 02/2024 attached to this circular.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further guidance.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance.
April 4th, 2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: On or after 1 July 2024/2029
By this message we would like to inform you regarding the amendments to MARPOL Annex I, Regulation 43A— Special requirements for the use and carriage of oils as fuel in Arctic waters.
Adopted by:
Summary:
New regulation 43A of MARPOL Annex I has been adopted to prohibit the use and carriage of heavy fuel oils (HFO) in Arctic waters.
Heavy fuel oils (HFO) are listed in MARPOL Annex I, Regulation 43.1.2 and include:
1. crude oils having a density at 15°C higher than 900 kg/m3.
2. oils, other than crude oils, having a density at 15°C higher than 900 kg/m3 or a kinematic viscosity at 50°C higher than 180 mm2/s; or
3. bitumen, tar and their emulsions
Implication:
Amendment will impact ships operating in and around the Arctic region as follows:
• If a ship has fuel oil tanks which do not comply with regulation 12A of MARPOL Annex I (Oil fuel tank protection) or regulation 1.2.1 of chapter 1, Part II-A of the Polar Code, the use and carriage of HFO will be prohibited on or after 1 July 2024.
• If a ship has fuel oil tanks which comply with regulation 12A of MARPOL Annex I (Oil fuel tank protection) or regulation 1.2.1 of chapter 1, Part II-A of the Polar Code, the use and carriage of HFO will be prohibited on or after 1 July 2029.
Application:
The amendment will apply to all ships except for ships engaged in securing the safety of ships, ships engaged in search and rescue operations or ships dedicated to oil spill preparedness and response.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance.
March 21st ,2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Starting on 1 July 2024
By this message we would like to inform you regarding the amendments to IBC Code, Chapter 2, paragraph 2.9.2.1—Survival Requirements
Adopted by:
Summary:
Amendment considers additional openings that may be excluded from contributing to progressive flooding if the final waterline is above their lower edge. These are (1) quick-acting or single-action type hinged watertight access doors with open/closed indication locally and also at the navigation bridge that are normally closed at sea, and (2) hinged watertight doors permanently closed at sea.
Implication:
These amendments clarify and align the requirements of watertight doors with that of SOLAS Convention and will have no impact on existing ships.
Application:
The amendments enter into force 1 July 2024 and will apply to all new and existing ships.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance.
March 21st ,2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Starting from 1 May 2024
By this message we would like to inform you regarding the amendments to MARPOL Annex V, Regulation 10—Garbage Record Book.
Adopted by:
Summary:
Amendments to MARPOL Annex V were adopted to expand the scope of Garbage Record Book, which has been required to be provided for vessels of 400 GT and above, to vessels of 100 GT and above.
Implication:
Ships of 100 GT and above will need to keep a Garbage Record Book onboard and record all discharges into the sea or reception facilities or completed incineration, within it.
Application:
Amendments will apply to all ships of 100 GT and above, and to all fixed and floating platforms starting from 1 May 2024.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance.
March 20nth, 2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Starting from 1 May 2024
By this message we would like to inform you regarding the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 14—Mediterranean Sea SOx Emission Control Area (ECA) starting from 1 May 2024.
Adopted by: MEPC.361(79)
Summary:
Starting from 1 May 2024, the proposed regulation will include the Mediterranean Sea as an Emission Control Area (ECA) for Sulphur Oxides (Sox) and Particulate Matter (PM)
Implication:
Amendments will start being enforced on 1 May 2025 for all vessels operating in the Mediterranean SOx ECA which will:
1. not be able to use fuel oil onboard with a sulphur content exceeding 0.10% m/m.
2. be required to ensure the 0.10% m/m fuel oil sulphur content limit is documented by the supplier.
3. must carry a written procedure detailing how the fuel changeover is to be carried out (applicable for ships using separate fuels)
Application:
Amendments will apply to new and existing ships.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance.
March 20nth, 2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators of all Comoros flag ships, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: By September 8th, 2024
By this message we would like to remind you that final date for compliance with the D-2 requirements of the “INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF SHIPS’ BALLAST WATER AND SEDIMENTS, 2004” [installation of Ballast Water Management System (BWMS)] for all vessels is 08 September 2024 and beyond that date no extension of BWMS installation may be granted.
We invite all Managers and Owners, that have yet to comply with the D-2 requirements, to take immediate actions in order to ensure full compliance with the IMO regulations.
Please treat this matter with the utmost urgency and take all necessary measures to ensure timely compliance with the BWMS installation requirement.
March 19th, 2024 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators of all ships over 5.000 GT, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Immediate
Ship-owners and operators should submit their fuel oil consumption data to a Recognized Organization nominated by the flag (PHRS), as specified in MARPOL Annex VI, in accordance to the approved Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) Part II [IMO DCS (Data Collection System)] & Part III for verification. The IMO DCS format has been revised based on MEPC.348 (78) (APPENDIX 1,2 and 3). The verified IMO-DCS reports of the applicable ships are then uploaded to IMO GISIS system.
The reported data should be supplemented by the appropriate supporting documentation to enable the smooth/prompt verification work.
It is strongly recommended that the submission to be made as soon as possible (till end of March 2024) to provide sufficient time for their review and corrections, if any.
On 1 June 2024, all applicable vessels are required to have on board a “Statement of Compliance”, issued by the respective recognized organization that verified the data.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact technical@phrs.gr.
January 12th, 2024 - PHRS Head Office
NL 290/23 | St. Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry Maritime Circular – MC 126 23
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Immediate
PURPOSE:
This Maritime Circular highlights the situation in the southern red sea and the Gulf of Aden and its purpose is to advise all ships that are currently operating in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden should exercise increased caution and vigilance, due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and recent developments in the region, since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict that negatively impacted the maritime security situation in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Questions regarding this Maritime Circular should be directed at mail@skanregistry.com.
December 5th 2023 - PHRS Head Office
The full press can be found here, in full detail.
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Immediate
From 10 July to 9 August 2023 the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control conducted a Focused Inspection Campaign (FIC) on Pilot Transfer Arrangements (PTAs).
The Paris MoU is trialling an alternative approach to the regular Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CICs) by conducting several short-targeted inspection campaigns referred to as Focused Inspection Campaigns (FICs). In the coming months more such FICs are scheduled. After completion of the trials, the results, ease of implementation and effectiveness will be assessed and, on this basis, further decisions will be made on inspection campaigns and their format. Part of the trial also involves assessing with whether or not to pre-announce the inspection campaign.
The first FIC was carried out on PTAs. This subject was chosen as several incidents during pilot transfer, within the Paris MoU region and beyond, occurred which warranted carrying out this campaign. Most of the time pilot transfers are carried out safely, but the potential consequences of a person falling from a ladder can be fatal and the high-risk embarkation and disembarkation of the pilot by ladder requires constant management and supervision.
The purpose of the campaign was to verify whether the PTAs on board the ships inspected were fulfilling the SOLAS requirements. A total of 1262 Port State Control inspections were carried out, during which 100 ships were found with one or more deficiencies with the PTA. Deficiencies found indicated that:
- when requested by Port State Control Officers to demonstrate, pilot ladders were not properly rigged to allow pilots to embark and disembark safely. On several occasions it was found that the weight of the ladder was not taken by its strongest point but, for example, by the steps;
- pilot ladders were damaged and/or not properly maintained;
- identification of ladders and record keeping of surveys and repairs were missing.
The full press can be found here, in full detail.
December 7th 2023 - PHRS Head Office
Refers to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators of Liberian flagged vessels, PHRS Surveyors / Representatives
Action Date: Immediate
PURPOSE:
This Notice provides a reproducible copy of this Operational/Safety Checklist in the RLM-300 to facilitate the inspection of safety equipment as required by SOLAS 1974, as amended, Chapter II, Regulations 14.2 to 14.4, Chapter III, Regulations 20.6 and 20.7 and other parts of SOLAS, MARPOL and other International Conventions, as applicable. The Administration strongly recommends the use of this format or a company sponsored planned maintenance system.
APPLICABILITY:
This Notice applies to Masters as it is their responsibility to ensure that all safety equipment, including lifesaving and firefighting appliances, is always in good condition and available for immediate use. Masters should also be aware that Port State Control inspections are focusing greater attention to the condition of lifesaving and firefighting appliances, based on the fact that these areas continue to generate the greatest number of deficiencies on the average for all vessels inspected by Port State Authorities.
Questions regarding this Marine Notice should be directed to the Fleet Performance Department at prevention@liscr.com.
December 5th 2023 - PHRS Head Office