Port State Control - Tokyo MOU New Inspection Regime

The Tokyo MOU on Port State Control (PSC) has announced that it will be introducing a New Inspection Regime (NIR) from the 1 January 2014, replacing the existing ship target factor system.

The move will further harmonise the PSC regimes of the Tokyo and Paris MOUs, the latter having introduced a NIR on 1 January 2011.

The new Tokyo MOU NIR will closely mirror the system already in place in the Paris MOU region with vessels assigned a ship risk profile from one of three categories; Low Risk Ship, (LRS), Standard Risk Ship (SRS) and High Risk Ship (HRS). The profile will be determined automatically by the Tokyo MOU computer database by considering a number of a factors covering the preceding 36 months:

• Performance of the ship’s flag state; whether it appears on the Tokyo MOU Black, Grey or White list of flag states, and the status of the flag’s adherence to the IMO Member State Audit Scheme which, although voluntary at present, is due to become mandatory in 2015
• Type of ship
  
• Age of ship
  
• Performance of the ship’s Recognised Organisation (RO)
  
• Performance of the company responsible for the vessel’s safety management in accordance with the ISM Code
  
• Number of deficiencies
  
• Number of detentions
  

The PSC inspection interval will depend on the ship risk profile assigned to a vessel. Low risk vessels will have a less frequent inspection burden, whereas those vessels deemed high risk will be subjected to more regular inspections. Vessels considered low risk will be inspected 9 to 18 months after a previous inspection, standard risk vessels will be inspected after 5 to 8 months and a high risk vessel will be inspected every 2 to 4 months. Although the Tokyo MOU NIR is aligned closely to the Paris MOU NIR, the Tokyo MOU NIR inspection interval is more frequent.

If a vessel calls at a Tokyo MOU port within the inspection time window it will be considered Priority II and may be inspected. If the inspection time window has passed it will be considered Priority I and will be inspected.

If a vessel has any “overriding factors”, which may include situations where Class has been suspended or withdrawn or if the vessel has very recently been involved in a casualty, such a collision, then it is likely the vessel will be inspected by PSC regardless of when the last inspection took place.

Further guidance on the Tokyo MOU NIR on PSC can be found on the Tokyo MOU New Inspection Regime (NIR) webpage.

Additional information on the operation of the Paris MOU NIR on which the Tokyo MOU NIR is based can be found in the Club’s news article: Port State Control – Paris MOU New Inspection Regime.

Members requiring additional guidance on the Tokyo MOU NIR should contact the Loss Prevention department.