With the first reporting year for IMO DCS ended (2019), and the deadline for reporting the data to the verifier has passed (31 March), a Statement of Compliance (SoC) shall be provided by the verifier and kept onboard no later than 31 May 2020. This statutory news is a reminder on how to stay in compliance with regulation 22A of MARPOL Annex VI.

A recent collision on the Mississippi River serves as an important reminder that accurate AIS data entry and display is essential to safe navigation as one of the many important tools used in providing vessel operators with a clear picture of potential upcoming vessel passing situations, especially on waterways with bends, bridges, or other visual obstructions.

USCG officers have pointed out that spare charges of powder fire extinguishers were expired.
Further, it has been also reported that the manufacture or product of spare powder differed from those of actual fire extinguishers onboard.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator (the “Administrator”) was recently notified of an incident involving the failure of a freefall lifeboat sling during lowering of the lifeboat to the water. The wire failed at a crimp while under load, causing the lifeboat to fall uncontrolled to the water. While this incident did not result in any injuries, it highlights the need to maintain vigilance when inspecting and utilizing slings for the secondary means of launching
and recovery of freefall lifeboats.

Due to a combination of circumstances there is now a worldwide shortage of storage space ashore for both unrefined and refined oil products of all types. As such there is a now growing demand for oil tankers to be used as floating storage.