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Mandatory Ship Notification

Notifications

Ships arriving from states participating in the Paris Memorandum on Port State Control (Paris MoU), are required to issue the following notifications:

  • notification 72 hours before arrival at the port or anchorage (pre-arrival 3 days) for ships eligible for an expanded inspection;
  • notification 24 hours before arrival at port;
  • notification of hazardous materials on board.

Consequences no reporting

Failure to report to the Port State that the vessel is eligible for a mandatory expanded inspection is an offence. A ship that has not provided advance information as required, will be subject to a mandatory inspection and may risk delay due to the involved nature of the inspection. A fine shall be imposed when not reporting.

Pre-Arrival 3-days notification

The agent shall notify the Harbour Master no later than three days before the expected time of arrival (ETA) at the port or anchorage, of ships eligible for an expanded inspection. If the voyage takes less than three days the agent shall submit the data before departure from the previous port.

The following ships are eligible for an expanded inspection:

  • ships with a high risk profile (regardless of type and age), which have not been inspected in the last five months;
  • oil, gas and chemical tankers, bulk carriers or passenger ships more than 12 years old, with a standard risk profile, which have not been inspected in the last 10 months;
  • oil, gas and chemical tankers, bulk carriers or passenger ships more than 12 years old, with a low risk profile, which have not been inspected in the last 24 months.

More information on risk profiles and how they are calculated can be found on the Paris MoU website.

Required information

The following information is required in accordance with Directive 2009/16/EC:

1. Ship Identification Number (name, call sign, IMO number or MMSI number).
2. Planned duration of the call.
3. for tankers:       

        a) configuration of hull: single hull/single hull SBT/double hull;
        b) condition of cargo and ballast tanks: full/empty/inerted;
        c) volume and nature of the cargo.
4.  Planned operations at the port or anchorage of destination (loading/unloading/other).
5.  Planned statutory surveys/substantial maintenance and repair work to be carried out at port of destination.
6. Date of last expanded inspection in the Paris MoU region.

The ports, also referred to as Local Competent Authority (LCA), shall collect the data and forward it to the Single Point of Contact (SPOC NL). The SPOC in the Netherlands is the RWS Vessel Traffic Monitoring Centre [Scheepvaartverkeerscentrum] (SVC).

Pre-arrival 24-hours notification

The agent shall notify the Harbour Master no later than 24 hours before the estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the port, providing data on all ship calls. The LCA shall collect the data and forward it to SPOC NL.

HazMat (hazardous cargo) non-EU departure notification

The agent shall notify the Harbour Master upon departure of any ship carrying hazardous cargo leaving a non-EU state with a port of destination in the Netherlands, providing data on the hazardous materials.
If at the time of departure the next port is not yet known, notification must be issued as soon as possible and no later than upon reaching Netherlands territorial waters. The LCA shall collect the data and forward it to SPOC NL.

Arrival notification

The LCA must report the actual time of arrival (ATA) at the first anchorage or berth to SPOC NL. The same applies for the anchorage or berth.
If the vessel shifts to another berth or anchorage the LCA must issue an update. The update is submitted upon the ship's arrival at the new berth or anchorage.

HazMat (hazardous cargo) EU departure notification

The agent shall notify the Harbour Master upon departure of any ship carrying hazardous cargo leaving a port in the Netherlands of the details of the hazardous cargo. The LCA collects the data and forwards it before/upon departure to SPOC NL.

Departure notification

The LCA reports the actual time of departure (ATD) from the last anchorage or berth to SPOC NL. The anchorage or berth must also be reported.

Notifications in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands agents, shipping companies and/or captains can submit notifications via the Port Community System (PCS) of Portbase.

Notifications to other PMoU member states

Prior to any voyage information on current national regulations and procedures may be sought from the appropriate port authorities to ensure that the required notifications can be provided correctly and in good time. These procedures can vary for each PMoU member state.

Directive 2009/17/EC: obligations of European member states

Directive 2009/17/EC concerns the obligations concerning the way in which the Netherlands and other European member states are to submit maritime information to the European SafeSeaNet.EIS. As of 1 January 2011 the information is to be submitted to SafeSeaNet.EIS through one central service (SPOC.nl). Up until 1 January 2011 Dutch ports and the Coastguard each submitted their mandatory notifications to SafeSeaNet.EIS separately. Consequently the Netherlands is the only member state to have a Multiple Point of Contact system.
The system is required to be able to receive and send data 24 hours a day.
In 2010 Director General Luchtvaart en Maritieme zaken of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management designated RWS as National Competent Authority (NCA) for SafeSeaNet.NL. This means that RWS will facilitate the development and realisation of the national SafeSeaNet, and is responsible for the exchange of maritime information and for the management thereof.

Directive 2009/16/EC: New database THETIS

As of 1 January 2011 the SafeSeaNet data will also be used for ship inspections. This is laid down in Directive 2009/16/EC. This Directive provides that information from SafeSeaNet (European states) and Canadian and Russian systems will be managed via the new database THETIS. This was internationally agreed in Paris MoU context.
The New Inspection Regime was ratified in Directive 2009/16/EC.
Further information on this can be found via the links below.