Classification society DNV has reminded ship owners and operators the Paris and Tokyo MoUs published the questionnaire for this year’s concentrated inspection campaign (CIC).
The Paris and Tokyo MoUs have made available a questionnaire, containing 10 questions as a checklist to confirm that the vessel complies with the requirements for ballast water management (BWM) under the relevant IMO instruments. Negative answers to questions 1 to 6, 9 and 10 may be considered grounds for detention, whereas questions 7 and 8 shall only lead to a non-detainable deficiency.
The CIC questionnaire has no specific questions related to the Safety Management System (SMS) on board. However, DNV stresses that any deficiency related to BWM can affect the on-board and company SMS system. The BWM questionnaire is included in DNV’s PSC Planner on DNV Veracity.
Other current port state control (PSC) inspection campaigns cover emergency escape from machinery spaces, while the Paris MoU carries out so-called focused inspection campaigns (FIC) in addition to the CIC on specific topics without prior information published. In addition the US Coat Guard is continuing its enhanced examination program (EEP), introduced in 2024 and focusing on various topics which are selected quarterly, with no information published in advance. Beyond these campaigns, DNV suggests that there might be additional local campaigns.
DNV recommends owners and operators to:
- Familiarise officers and crew with their duties and the additional checklist.
- Check all required certificates and approvals are valid and up to date.
- Keep the BWM Plan and ballast water record books updated.
- Make sure that all BWM and treatment systems are working correctly.
- Evaluate the SMS for any necessary updates.
Image: Ballast water management is the focus of a current PSC campaign (source: DNV)
