Vessels and Seafarers

Port State Control

Published: 19. September 2006. Updated: 19. September 2006.

Ship Notification Information for Operators or Masters & Ship Agents of Foreign Flag Vessels

Why do I need to report to the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (NMD) that my vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?

Following the Erica and Prestige disasters, the EU introduced new legislation through the EU Directive 2001/106/EC, which is transposed in Norwegian legislation
The directive introduced the concept of Mandatory Expanded Inspection (MEI) on “high risk ships” and    requires that “high risk ships” must have a mandatory expanded inspection carried out by a member-state of the Paris MOU region every 12 months.

How do I know if my vessel is classified as “high risk vessel”?

The following vessels are identified by the directive as being high risk:

Oil tankers above 3000 GRT and more than 15 years old
Gas and chemical tankers more than 10 years old
Bulk-carriers more than 12 years old
Passenger ships more than15 years old (excluding those covered by the EU Ferry Directive 1999/35/EC)

As the operator or master of a "high risk vessel,"  what am I required to do?

If your vessel is classed as “high risk”, as defined above, and it has been more than 12 months since a Mandatory Expanded Inspection was carried out by a Port State Control Inspector in the Paris MOU region, then you must notify the relevant Norwegian Maritime Directorate office that your vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection. 
The information must be provided 3 days before the expected time of arrival, or before leaving the previous port if the voyage is expected to take less than 3 days.

How do I report to the NMD that my vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?

As a ship owner, master or ships agent, you may use a telefax (attached in PDF format) to inform the NMD office nearest to your port of call that your vessel is eligible for an Mandatory Expanded Inspection. The NMD also accepts that this information is sent via your ship’s agent in the next port of call.

How to contact the nearest Norwegian Maritime Directorate Office:

Please find attached a list of contact point details for the various NMD offices.
If you’re not sure which office covers your port of arrival, please send the notification by telefax to the Inspection Department at NMD Headquarters in Haugesund. (telefax no. (+47) 52 74 50 01).

What happens next?

Upon receipt of your notification, the NMD will contact the operator or master, either directly or via the ship’s agent, to confirm whether or not the NMD will attend the vessel to carry out the Mandatory Expanded Inspection.

What happens if I report that my vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection and the NMD does not attend the vessel while calling at a Norwegian port?

 As stated above, the NMD will respond to the operator or master either directly or via the ships’ agent.  If the NMD does not intend to carry out a Mandatory Expanded Inspection, then the reason for this will be stated in the reply telefax.
If the vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection and for some reason the NMD is unable to attend to the vessel, the NMD will inform the authorities in the vessel’s next port of call within the Paris MOU region and ask them to carry out the inspections. In order to avoid misunderstandings, the operator/master or ship’s agent should also notify the maritime authorities in next port of call within the Paris MOU region.

What if I don’t report to the NMD that my vessel is due for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?

Reference is made to EU Directive 2001/106/EC: Failure to report that your vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection while the vessel is being identified by the NMD as due for said inspection, the ship will be subject to a Mandatory Expanded Inspections and risk being delayed.
The Port State Control Officer may also file a deficiency referring to section 10 of  the ISM Code. This deficiency will be an ISM non conformity which should be addressed by the master/company within 3 months.

Notification form in: WORD

INorwegian Maritime Directorate
Inspection Department
Smedasundet 50 A
5528 Haugesund
Norway
Fax: +47 52 74 50 01
e-mail: beredskap@sjofartsdir.no