A manning proposal is a document drawn up by the ship's manager indicating the minimum crew composition with which he or she wishes to man a vessel. The information provided in the proposal includes the number of crew members along with their duties, based on the operations of the vessel in question.
Step 1: drawing up a manning proposal
In order to apply for an MSMD, the merchant ship’s ship manager must first draw up a manning proposal. For this purpose, please use the form Application Assessment Crew Plan Seagoing Vessel.
In a manning proposal, the ship manager specifies for instance:
- the sailing area of the ship
- the vessel type and the type of cargo
- the number of crew members
- the crew members' responsibilities.
The proposal states how the minimum required crew can work and sail in a safe and responsible manner. However, the ship's manager and captain have the obligation to add additional crew members if circumstances so require. This is stated in the Wet zeevarenden (Seafarers Act, in Dutch). The ILT will use the approved proposal and the required attachments to grant the MSMD.
In a manning proposal you can also choose to have multiple crew compositions, for example depending on the sailing area or whether you sail continuously or not. During voyages, only one crew composition may be used at a time. The master must record the chosen or changed composition in the ship's log book.
Step 2: applying for an MSMD
Once you have drawn up the manning proposal, you can apply for an MSMD using the form Application Assessment Crew Plan Seagoing Vessel.
Please send the manning proposal and MSMD application along with any attachments to the ILT.
Fees for the application can be found on the page Tarieven (Tariffs, in Dutch).
If you want to flag in your ship and launch it as quickly as possible, you can apply with the ILT for a temporary MSMD. Please use the form Application additional certificates for merchant ships. At section 4 under 'Other, please specify: please state 'temporary MSMD for flagging in'. For this purpose, the ILT will assess the MSMD of the previous flag state. The temporary MSMD is valid for 3 months. Within that time period, you will need to draw up a manning proposal to apply for a final MSMD.
Assessment of your manning proposal by the ILT
The ILT will assess the manning proposal for such aspects as:
- crew composition
- rest hours
- vessel type and equipment
- emergency procedures
- sailing areas
- continuous/non-continuous sailing
Once your manning proposal is approved
If the ILT approves the manning proposal, the ship’s manager will receive a validated manning proposal and an MSMD along with a payment invoice. You will receive the documents within the time frames set in the Algemene wet bestuursrecht (General Administrative Law Act, in Dutch).
It is mandatory to have the manning proposal and the MSMD on board at all times.
Reporting changes to your manning proposal or MSMD
In case of changes, you can also use the Manning proposal form Application Assessment Crew Plan Seagoing Vessel.
Renewing your MSMD
Your MSMD is valid for 5 years. If your manning document expires, you can use the Manning proposal form Application Assessment Crew Plan Seagoing Vessel to apply for renewal.