The Black Sea Region MoU (BS MoU) presented the preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW), it carried out from 1 September 2022 to 30 November 2022.

The campaign involved all member Authorities of the BS MoU and was conducted under the campaign coordination of the Bulgarian Maritime Administration.

This campaign was conducted in conjunction with the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda, as well as other regional PSC Regimes. Guidelines and Questionnaires of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda were used.

Preliminary results
During the CIC period, involving all types of ships, a total of 1,329 inspections were carried out.

Of these inspections, 1,140 inspections were performed using the CIC questionnaire and a ship was subjected to only one CIC inspection during the campaign period.

The data from the Black Sea Information System (BSIS) indicates that 5 ships were detained for CIC related deficiencies (the CIC topic detention rate is 0.44%).

The requirements that reported the full compliance results related to;

• Q2: Do the master and officers hold valid certificates of competency as required by the Minimum Safe Manning Document?
• Q9: Can the seafarers on board the vessel communicate effectively with each other in the working language of the vessel?

The reported most un-favourable results related to;

• Q3: Do the master, officers and radio operators hold valid endorsements attesting the recognition of certificates or documentary proof of application? (10.4%)
• Q5: Do seafarers on board hold valid medical certificates? (11.1%)
• Q6: Do the records for hours of rest indicate compliance with the requirements? (27.4%)
• Q7: Do the watch schedules comply with the provisions of STCW? (14.1%)
• Q10: Do the voyage plans cover the whole route from berth to berth? (29.6%)

A total of 476 (41.75%) CIC inspections concerned general cargo/multi-purpose ships, followed by bulk carriers with 372 (32.63%) inspections, oil/chemical tankers with 108 (9.47%) and oil tankers with 81 (7.11%) inspections, which comprises 1,037 (90.96%) total CIC inspections.

All the 5 detained vessels with CIC related deficiencies were general cargo/multipurpose ships.

Vessels from 52 different States were inspected under the CIC scope. Most CIC inspections were carried out on board ships flying the flags of Panama with 206 inspections (18.07%), Liberia with 157 inspections (13.77%), Marshall Islands with 107 inspections (9.39%) and Malta with 82 inspections (7.19%).

A total of 27 flags covering 9.65% of the total CIC inspections had no non-conformities. Detained vessels with CIC related deficiencies in the Region were flying the flags of Comoros, Mongolia, Tanzania (2) and Togo.

Older ships in the Region, particularly those 25 years old and more, are reported the least favourable results. These old vessels show a reason for concern with all 5 detentions while new ships, which are younger than 5 years old, performed excellently and there were no non-compliant responses for these new vessels.

The results of the campaign will be further analysed, and findings will be presented to the 23rd meeting of the Black Sea Port State Control Committee, after which the report will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization.

Source: Safety4sea

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	Issue 83 of Robban Assafina (Jan./ Feb. 2023)