In accordance with the commitment taken by the Member Maritime Authorities, during the 22nd Committee Meeting of the Latin American Agreement on Port State Control (Punta Cana- Dominican Republic, 21 to 25 September 2015), a Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Cargo Securing Arrangements will be carried out jointly with other MoUs between 01 September 2016 and 30 November 2016.

The purpose of this CIC is to get acquainted with ship’s level of compliance with the applicable Cargo Securing requirements and the overall safety of ships and seafarers engaged in cargo securing operations. The objectives of VMA member states for this CIC

are:

– the determination of the level of compliance with the requirements of the applicable international conventions;

– the familiarization of the Master, Officers and Crew with the procedures for cargo securing arrangements;

– the acquaintance with the hazards associated with cargo securing and safe practices for cargo securing; and

– the compliance with IMO recommendations on the CIC.

During the CIC, the member authorities of the Viña del Mar Agreement will inspect cargo securing arrangements when conducting ordinary port state control inspections. The purpose of this campaign is to enhance safety and compliance related to cargo securing arrangements. Ships will be subject to only one CIC inspection during the campaign. The Master of the ship will receive a copy of the CIC questionnaire from the port state control officer as evidence that the CIC was performed.

Masters and ship’s crew are encouraged to review cargo securing procedures and arrangements as outlined in their ship’s Cargo Securing Manual and ensure they are securing cargo in accordance with the manual and following all applicable safety procedures. Vessel owners and operators are encouraged to review the ship’s cargo securing manual to ensure it is up-to-date with ship operations and that it has been approved and updated as necessary by their Administration or the Recognized Organization authorized to act on behalf of the Administration.

This CIC is applied to all types of vessels carrying bulk liquids and gases which have a cargo securing manual.

Special attention will be drawn to the supervision of all the different vessels comprised by the referred convention that voluntarily call at the ports of the region.

The results of this CIC will be analyzed and findings submitted to the Fourth Session of

Subcommittee on Implementation of IMO Instruments, which will be held in the IMO headquarters in 2017.

Source: Viña del Mar