Technical Circular No: 039/2021
Download PDF1. A concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) on Stability requirements (in general) will be initiated jointly by the member Authorities of the Tokyo and Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control.
2. The inspection campaign will be held for three (3) months, commencing from 1st September 2021 and ending on 30th November 2021.
3. The purpose of the CIC is to;
a. Confirm that the ship’s crew are familiar with assessing the actual stability condition on completion of cargo operations before departure of the ship and on all stages of the voyage;
b. Create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of calculating the actual stability condition of the ship on completion of cargo operations and before departure of the ship;
c. Verify that the ship complies with intact stability requirements (and damage stability requirements, if applicable) under the relevant IMO instruments;
4. Port State Control officer shall be using a questionnaire to assess that information and equipment provided onboard complies with the relevant Conventions that the master and officers are familiar with operations relating to stability (in general) and that equipment is properly maintained and functioning.
5. Deficiencies found during the inspection will be recorded by the PSC officer and actions may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period of time, to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified.
6. Accordingly Owners and managers of the Shipping Companies are advised that the ship’s Masters are communicated to ensure that;
a. The ship is provided with approved stability information which can be understood and easily used by the Master and responsible officer.
Note 1: Stability information and loading information: Every passenger ship regardless of size and every cargo ship of 24 m and over, the master shall be supplied
with stability information to the satisfaction of the Administration containing such information as is necessary to enable him, by rapid and simple procedures, to obtain accurate guidance as to the stability of the ship under varying conditions of service to maintain the required intact stability and stability after damage. For ships constructed from 1 January 2010, the intact and damage stability information required by SOLAS regulation II-1/5-1 shall be presented as consolidated data and encompass the full operating range of draught and trim. The stability information, and loading information related to ship strength when required under regulation 10 of LL Protocol 1988, shall also be carried on board at all times, together with evidence that the information has been approved by the Administration. For bulk carriers, the information required in a bulk carrier booklet may be contained in the stability information.
Note 2: Damage control plans and booklets: On passenger and cargo ships, there shall be permanently exhibited plans showing clearly for each deck and hold the boundaries of the watertight compartments, the openings therein with the means of closure and position of any controls thereof, and the arrangements for the correction of any list due to flooding. Booklets containing the aforementioned information shall be made available to the officers of the ship.
b. The Master and responsible officer are familiar with the use of the stability information provided onboard and are able to determine the stability of the ship under varying conditions of service using the approved stability information provided.
c. Stability calculations are carried out on completion of cargo operations and before departure of the ship and for all stages of the voyage and records for same are maintained onboard.
d. During loading/ unloading, “calculated” displacement and trim are verified and confirmed against the “observed” draughts and records for same are maintained onboard.
e. For ships provided with stability instrument, the stability software in use meets the requirements for the relevant ship type. The loading computer certificate issued by the Class and the approved test conditions are available onboard together with the user’s manual.
f. Further, for approved stability instrument fitted on tanker (Oil & Chemical) and Gas carriers, a Document of Approval issued by the flag Administration or a RO on behalf of the Administration is available onboard.
g. The master and responsible officer are familiar with the use of the system. The accuracy of the stability instrument is verified periodically by applying at least one approved test condition and records for same are maintained.
Enclosure:
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.