Measures to reduce PSC Detentions and improve the Performance on Panamanian Vessels – MMC-380

C24027 | 10 June 2024

Notice to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators / Surveyors / Auditors :

The Panama Maritime Authority has re-issued Merchant Marine Circular MMC-380 “Measures to Reduce PSC Detentions and Improve the Performance on Panamanian Vessels”.

This Circular replaced MMC-172.

The key changes in the revised circular are:

• Section 6.1.2 Preventive measures: this requires each ship older than ten (10) years of construction and considered with a high-risk factor by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Paris MOU, and the Tokyo MOU, to be subject to an Occasional Survey, carried out by the RO that issued the SMC Certificate. Previously this requirement applied to ships older than fifteen years (15).
• Due to analysis of the detentions of Panamanian flag vessels, the Administration has decided to increase the scope of applicability of the occasional survey. It now applies to vessels over 10 years old. Although the rest of the parameters remain the same, ROs are asked to give special emphasis to bulk carrier and general cargo, with less than 10,000 GRT, which suffer the most detentions.

Act now

Ship Owners/ Managers/ Operators/ Surveyors/ Auditors are to take note of the above and ensure that Occasional Surveys are performed per the above.