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1. This Technical Circular supersedes and revokes our earlier Technical Circular No. 010/2020, dated 26^th February 2020 and Technical Circular No. 014/2020, dated 16^th March 2020. 

2. The Panama Maritime Authority vide updated Merchant Marine Notice, MMN-03/2020 (copy attached) has informed that in those cases where crew change is not possible due to the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Administration considers granting exemptions to the following requirements;

   a. If the seafarers employment agreement expires or will expire soon, an exception to Standard A2.4.3 ‘Entitlement to leave’, and Standard A2.5.1.2 (b) ‘Repatriation’ of the Maritime Labour Condition 2006, will be granted in order to extend it.

   b. In those cases where the change of crew, due to expiration of the Certificate/s cannot be carried out, the Administration will consider issuance of an Exemption or Dispensation Letter based on evaluation of the nature of the case.

3.  Exemption/ Dispensation as above will be granted by Panama administration through an Authorization letter.
   
   A. Extension of Seafarers Employment Agreement:
   

   1. Shipowners seeking Extension of seafarers employment agreement as per ‘2 a’ above, are required to request SEGUMAR Office submitting the following requirements;

      • Email requesting the extension of the seafarers employment agreement, including the particulars of the vessel, seafarer name and position onboard,

      • Copy of Seafarer Employment Agreement of each seafarer for whom extension is requested,

      • Crew List,

      • Copy of the Registry certificate.

   2. Exception letter granted by Panama Administration under above provision will be valid for a period of three (3) months to continue being engaged under the Seafarers employment agreement beyond a period of 11 months and the granted extension will be reviewed by the Administration considering the condition of the COVID-19.

   3. By the end of extension provided, the concerned seafarer shall have the right to annual leave with pay and be duly repatriated as per standard A 2.4.3 and A 2.5.1.2(b).

   B.Extension of Seafarers Certificates including Certificate of Endorsement:

   1. Shipowners seeking Extension of seafarers certificates including certificate of endorsement as per Para ‘2 b’  above are required to request SEGUMAR Office submitting the following requirements;

      • Email requesting the extension of the Certificate, including the particulars of the vessel, crew name and position onboard,

      • For extension of certificate under Regulation I/2 of the STCW’78 Convention , as amended, Copy of the Certificate issued by the Panama Maritime Authority,

      • For extension of certificate issued under Regulation I/10 of the STCW’78 Convention , as amended, Authorization letter of extension of the issuance Country and copy of the Home Country License,

      • Crew List,

      • Copy of the Registry certificate.
        
        
   2. Extension granted by Panama Administration under above provision will be valid for a period of three (3) months from the date of expiration of the certificate/s, and will be reviewed by the Administration to decide whether the granted extension requires additional period considering the condition of the COVID-19
      
      

   C. Extension of the Validity of Colour Copy of Original Transitory Certificate of Seafarers (CT): 
   The period of validity for the full-colour copy of the Transitory Certificate stated on Panama Circular, MMC-313 “period no longer than thirty (30) calendar days”, is extended for ninety (90) calendar days, counting from the issuing date of the CT. This CT serves as evidence of the application processing until the original document is received onboard. This extension will be reviewed considering the condition of the COVID-19.
   
   

   D. Dispensation Letter: If any third Party member of the STCW’78 Convention, who issued the Seafarers Certificate has not extended it due to Corona Virus outbreak, Panama Administration will grant a Dispensation Letter to the capacity (rank). Shipowners seeking Dispensation Letter are required to request SEGUMAR Office submitting the following requirements;

   • Copy of the Certificate/s,

   • Crew List,

   • Copy of the Registry certificate.

   E. Extension of Medical Certificate and Certificate of Proficiency:
       
        The Administration has further informed that;

   • If the medical certificate of a seafarer expires, it shall continue in force in this exceptional circumstances for a period of three (3) months from its expiry date (MLC, 2006 Standard A1.2.9).

   • Certificate of proficiency issued by an authorized Maritime Training Center of Panama in accordance with the regulation V and VI of the STCW, as amended (except those issued under Regulation I/2) will be considered valid for a period of three (3) months from its expiry date.

   F. Dispensation Letter of the Certificate of Inspection of Crew Accommodation (CICA).

   1. The Dispensation Letter to extend the Certificate of Inspection of Crew Accommodation (CICA) issued by the Maritime Labour Affairs Department of the General Directorate of Seafarers shall continue to be issued. Ship owners/ operators seeking Dispensation letter are required to submit the following requirements to the e-mail address - labormar@amp.gob.pa

      • Request Certificate of Inspection of Crew Accommodation (CICA) extension, including the particular of the vessel and reasons of the request.

      • Copy of Full-Term Certificate of Inspection of Crew Accommodation (CICA) expired or about to expire.

      • Registry Certificate.

      • Annual Taxes Receipt.

   2. The Dispensation Letters issued will be valid for a period of three (3) months, and at no cost, solely under this exceptional circumstances.

   3. A copy of the Dispensation Letter issued by the Directorate General of Seafarers is to be attached to the Certificate of Inspection of Crew Accommodation (CICA).

4. Measures established vide attached MMN-03/2020 would be reviewed and revised by the Administration, as required, based on the condition of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the global trade in the maritime sector.

5. Ship owners/ operators and masters of Panama flagged ships are advised to be guided by above.

Enclosure: 

• Panama Merchant Marine Notice, MMN-03/2020, Rev. March 2020.

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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