Tokyo MoU PSC Committe Held Its 23rd Meeting in Singapore

2013-01-31

Representatives of the Port State Control Committee, the governing body under the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU), met in Singapore for the Twenty-Third session from 21 to 24 January 2013.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Abdul Samad Bin Shaik Osman, Principal Assistant Director, Maritime Industry Control Division, Marine Department Peninsular Malaysia. Mr. Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, made a welcome speech and declared opening of the meeting officially. Mr. Lam stressed firstly the important role of Tokyo MOU in port State control and the responsibilities of Singapore as both a major flag State and port State.

Then he commended the efforts, initiatives and achievements by the Tokyo MOU during the past years. Moreover, Mr. Lam encouraged Tokyo MOU to further

enhance and improve its activities so as to promote safety of navigation, protection of the marine environment and the labour condition on board ships.

Lastly, he reaffirmed the commitment and continuous support from Singapore to the Tokyo MOU.

The sixth meeting of Technical Working Group (TWG) was held from 18 to 19 January 2013, immediately before the Committee meeting. The TWG meeting discussed matters relating to PSC technical procedures and guidelines, the Concentrated Inspection Campaigns; information system and information exchange, evaluation of work done by intersessional technical groups and technical co-operation activities.

The Committee considered and approved the new inspection regime (NIR).

The Committee decided to introduce the NIR for implementation on 1 January 2014. The Committee further decided to issue a separate press release for providing the industry and the general public with more information and explanation on the NIR.

Taking the entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 into account, the Committee considered and adopted the amendments to the Memorandum for inclusion of MLC as one of the relevant instruments under the Tokyo MOU. The amendments will take effect on 20 August 2013, on which the MLC enters into force.

The Committee considered the intersessional work done by the group on the revision of the PSC Manual and approved the new structure of the PSC Manual in principle. The Committee noted with satisfaction the successful launching of the new version of the MOU web-site.

The Committee considered and adopted a document of policy on concentrated inspection campaigns (CICs), which is harmonized with the one agreed by the Paris MOU. The Committee approved the arrangements for the CIC on Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery that will be carried out from 1 September to 30 November 2013 with the Paris MOU jointly.

The Committee confirmed to conduct a joint CIC with the Paris MOU on Hours of Work and Rest in 2014 and noted the ongoing discussions and preparations of the CIC. The Committee further agreed to keep liaison with the Paris MOU for decision and preparation for the CIC in 2015.

In conjunction with the Committee meeting, an open forum with the industry was convened on 24 January 2013. The forum was attended by the International Association of Classification societies (IACS), Association of Asian Classification Societies (ACS), INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO, the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation (ICS/ISF), Asian Shipowners' Forum (ASF) and the Sporting Arms & Ammunition

-- Source from Tokyo MoU

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