Purpose

This Instruction to Class (IC) concerns ships which are subject to surveys required for the issuance or renewal of the IOPP certificate.

Application

This IC applies to ships registered in a Norwegian ship register to which Regulations of 30 May 2012 No. 488 on environmental safety for ships and mobile offshore units apply.

References

  • Agreement of 1 June 2002 between the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and Recognized Organizations (RO) concerning surveys of ships registered in a Norwegian ship register (the Agreement) articles 2.2 and 2.3, cf. Annex I to the Agreement section 3.2.5 and 3.8 and Annex II to the Agreement section 3.3.5 and 3.7.
  • Regulations of 30 May 2012 No. 488 on environmental safety for ships and mobile offshore units

Background

On 4 December 2013, the IMO Assembly adopted Res A.1088(28) on the application of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the Convention). The aim of Res A.1088(28) is to clarify uncertainties in relation to the application of regulation B-3, through the application of a realistic timeline for enforcement of regulation D-1 and regulation D-2 upon the entry into force of the Convention. Res A.1088(28) thus recommends that ships constructed before the entry into force of the Convention should not be required to comply with regulation D-2 until the first renewal of the IOPP certificate following the date of entry into force of the Convention.

Taking into account the alleged uncertainties associated with the approval of the technologies needed in order to comply with the requirements of regulation D-2 and whether systems approved according to IMO’s revised G8 guidelines can be used globally, the Norwegian maritime industry has on several occasions posted inquiries whether the IOPP certificate can or may be de-coupled from the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC). The purpose of such de-coupling would be to renew the IOPP certificate some time before 8 September 2017, and thus possibly reduce some of the uncertainties mentioned above.

As discussed by MEPC 70 and with reference to MEPC 70 WP.12 (attached), the final outcome on the alternative amendments to regulation B-3 of the Convention has not been concluded, thus creating further uncertainties as to when ballast water management systems (BWMS) will be required on ships built before 8 September 2017.

Item 1 – De-harmonization of IOPP certificate

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has evaluated relevant national legal instruments and concluded that there are no legal provisions adopted by the NMA which bar the de-coupling the IOPP certificate from the HSSC.

Furthermore, the NMA does not intend to carry out case-by-case assessments. Upon a ship owner’s request, ROs may therefore carry out the IOPP certificate renewal survey separately and independently from other renewal surveys and issue the IOPP certificate accordingly.

Item 2 – Validity and durability of the IOPP certificate after de-harmonization

The de-coupling will not affect the legal scheme for the validity of the IOPP certificate. The certificate may be issued with a validity of 5 years, and the anniversary date will be based on the completion date of the early de-coupled renewal survey. For example, if the early IOPP renewal survey is completed on 18 November 2016, the certificate will be valid until 17 November 2021, and the anniversary date of the IOPP certificate will be 17 November. Periodical IOPP surveys should be carried out as per the new anniversary date.

Item 3 – Re-harmonization of IOPP certificate

The NMA recognises that the uncertainty regarding the implementation of BWMS requirements brings about new approaches to the existing set of rules. Nevertheless, HSSC in general represents the interests of the shipping industry as a whole. When the implementation scheme of BWMS has been settled, the NMA will therefore, together with the maritime industry, seek solutions for the re-harmonization of the IOPP certificate in the longer term.