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• Barbados Maritime Administration has issued Information Bulletin No. 270 (copy attached) providing guidance and instructions on Management of Port State Control Inspections.

• Administration has reminded that failures and breakdowns of equipment need not be a cause for detention provided that the Flag State and Recognized Organization have been advised as soon as the breakdown is experienced, and the Port State has been alerted prior to arrival.

• Reporting of PSC Inspections:
  • In order to identify vessels which may be at increased risk of detention, Administration requires companies to forward copies of every PSC inspection report (Form A and, if deficiencies are identified, Form B) to the Administration as soon as possible after the inspection.
  • The Administration will examine the PSC reports and determine if any further action is required. This may include an additional ISM audit or BMSR inspection.
  • The Classification Society and/or Recognised Organisation issuing the affected certificates may have their own reporting requirements which the Company and Master must follow.
  • Persistent failure to provide PSC inspection reports may be regarded as objective evidence of a failure in the Safety Management System and lead to non-conformities being raised at external ISM audits.

• Reporting of PSC Detentions:
  • If a ship is detained, the Company is required to inform the Administration, the RO, Classification Society and the ISM issuing body. The BMSR should also be informed of actions taken or planned to rectify all deficiencies as soon as practicable.
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA) must be undertaken by the Company within 30 days of the date of detention and corrective actions to be taken to prevent a reoccurrence.
  • On receipt of RCA, the Administration will review it and the ship’s history to determine what additional inspections of shipboard and/or office Safety Management System is required.

• The Administration has informed that if a ship is detained twice within a 12 month period, it will be deleted from the Register.

• If a Company wishes to dispute a detention, they should inform the BMSR. The Administration will try to assist as far as they can. The onus is on the Company to make the appeal against the detention, within the time-scale permitted by the MOU.

• Ship Owners / managers and Masters of Barbados flagged vessels are advised to be guided by above and ensure compliance with the requirements.

Enclosure:

1. Barbados Maritime Information Bulletin No. 270.

Disclaimer:

This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.

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