Ship Notification Information For Masters, Ship Owners & Ship Agents Of Foreign Flag Vessels.
Why do I need to report to the MCA 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 UK legislation by the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) (Amendment) Regulations 2003.
The directive introduced the concept of Mandatory Expanded Inspections (MEI’s) on “high risk ships." The directive requires that high risk ships must have a mandatory expanded inspection carried out by a member of the Paris MOU region every 12 months.
This new legislation came into to effect on 22 July 2003.
How do I know if my vessel is classed as “high risk vessel?"
The following vessels are identified by the directive as high risk:
- Oil tankers over 15 years old and over 3000GT
- Gas and chemical tankers over 10 years old
- Bulk carriers over 12 years old
- Passenger ships over 15 years old (excluding those covered by the EU Ferry directive)
As the Owner 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 is 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 report to the UK port that your vessel is calling at that your vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection. In this case of the UK you must report to the relevent MCA Marine Office.
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 MCA that my vessel is eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?
As an Owner, Master or Ships Agent you can use the fax format which can be downloaded in Word format from the link at the bottom of this page to record the vessel's details, and the port and estimated time of arrival. The completed fax should be sent to the relevant MCA Marine Office to advise that your vessel is eligible for an Mandatory Expanded Inspection.
It is now acceptable to the MCA for the information to be sent via your agent that is assigned for your UK port of arrival.
Click here to see the contact details for the various MCA Marine Offices. If you are unsure which office covers the UK port which you will be arriving at then please send the notification fax to Inspection Branch at MCA Headquarters.
What happens next?
Upon receipt of your notification the MCA will contact the Master or Ship owner either directly or via the Ship’s agent to confirm whether or not the MCA 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 MCA does not attend the vessel whilst I am in a UK port?
As stated above the MCA will respond to the Master or Owner either directly or via the Ships’ agent. If they do not intend to carry out the MEI then the reason for this will be stated in the reply fax.
For example, an MEI will only be carried out if the target factor of the vessel is greater than 12. If the target factor is less than 12 then the vessel will not be eligible for an MEI but may be eligible for a PSC Inspection. As the Master, Owner or Agent of a vessel you will not know the target factor of the vessel, and as such you will still need to continue to report to each Paris MOU port, giving 3 days notice or prior to departure from the previous port if less than 3 days.
If the vessel is eligible for an MEI, with target factor over 12, and for some reason the MCA are unable to attend the vessel to carry out an MEI then the MCA will inform the vessels next port of call within the Paris MOU region and ask them to carry out the MEI. As a matter of course and to avoid confusion it is best practice if the Owner/Master or Agent also notifies the next port of call within the MOU region.
What if I don’t report to the MCA that my vessel is due for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection?
Under the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 failure to report to the MCA that your vessel is eligible for a mandatory expanded inspection is an offence.
A ship that has not provided advance information as required, that is then identified by an MCA Marine office to be eligible for a Mandatory Expanded Inspection will be subject to a Mandatory Inspection and may risk delay due to the involved nature of the inspection.
The requirement to report that a vessel is eligible for an MEI has now been in force for six years, the number of Masters reporting their vessels is minimum and as such the MCA has now advised its Port State Control Officers to raise a deficiency against section 10 of the ISM Code during the Port State Control Inspection for vessels that do not notify the MCA of their eligibility for a mandatory expanded inspection. The deficiency will be an ISM non conformity which should be addressed by the Master/Company within 3 months.
Click here to download form of notification of Ships Eligible for MEI
(Word 
28Kb)
Inspection Operations Branch
Directorate of Maritime Services
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton, SO15 1EG.