Technical Circular No: 054/2022
Download PDF1. Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has issued Merchant Marine Notice, MMN-08/2022 informing that with effect from 01 August 2022, a special program of flag inspections will be implemented for ships arriving at ports in the United States and having history (Detentions, Deficiencies, RO, Company, Type of ship, Age, etc.) which makes them candidates for Port State Inspection (PSC) by the USCG.
2. The purpose of the inspection is to avoid detentions and achieve the Q21 program.
3. Shipowners, Managers, Operators and masters are therefore urged to ensure that any ships calling at ports in the USA are fully prepared for the possibility of a PSC inspection by the USCG.
4. For this special flag inspection, if required, the Shipowners/Managers/Operator will bear the travel, food, and lodging expenses of the PMA Flag Inspector designated to attend to their ships.
5. PMA has informed that non-compliance with the provisions of this marine notice will be subject to sanction. Refusing for the first time carries a penalty of 10,000.00 USD. The recurrence will be grounds for the cancellation of the PMA registry immediately.
6. Owners / Operators and Masters of Panama flagged vessels are advised to be guided by above.
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.