Barbados – Permits, Permanent Exemptions and Equivalences

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

C24045 | 27 August 2024

This Circular is issued to advise that the Barbados Maritime Ship Registry (BMSR) has revised its Bulletin 008 – Permits, Permanent Exemptions and Equivalences.

The Bulletin explains the process for applying for:

• Temporary and Permanent Exemption from an IMO Convention or National requirement;
• Extension of statutory survey period or validity of a certificate issued under an international convention; or
• Postponement of a survey, servicing period, or any other applicable national or international requirement; or
• Equivalent arrangement to an IMO convention requirement.
• Where the vessel does not correspond with the particulars of the affected certificate owing to failure of equipment, damage, etc.;
• Where detainable deficiencies are identified and cannot be permanently repaired or rectified immediately.

The Bulletin clarifies that:

In various SOLAS regulations the words “exemptions“, “relaxations”, “dispensations”, and “waivers” are used with no apparent intended difference in their meaning.

A Permit is a temporary release from a statutory requirement for a limited period where a vessel is, temporarily, unable to comply with statutory provisions and is generally limited to the minimum period necessary for the vessel to reach a port where rectification of the deficiency can be accomplished. This includes extension and/or postponement of statutory surveys, audits, verifications, and inspections.

An Exemption is a permanent release from compliance with a statutory convention requirement, due to the existence of specific circumstances as sanctioned by the provisions of that Convention.

An Equivalence is a permanent arrangement that provides the same general level of safety or intent of a Convention requirement without meeting all criteria for full compliance. Such arrangements can be accomplished, either independently or in combination with, alternative equipment, additional procedures/precautions, operational restrictions, etc.

Application for a Temporary Permit

Barbados Recognised Organisations (ROs) are not authorised to issue a permit without the agreement of the BMSR.

Applications for permits are to be submitted to the BMSR directly or via the RO that has issued the relevant Statutory Certificate. The application should include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Reason and justification;
• Temporary measures in place;
• Corrective action plan to rectify the deficiency;
• Supporting documentation.

When the application is submitted through the RO, the RO shall review the application and provide the BMSR with:

• Provisions contained in any applicable IMO convention, code, or IMO circulars;
• Provisions contained in Barbados national regulations;
• Recommendations and justification.

Application for a Permanent Exemption and Equivalence

Barbados Recognised Organisations (ROs) are not authorised to issue a permanent exemption or equivalence without the agreement of the BMSR.

Applications are to be submitted to the RO that has issued the relevant Statutory Certificate.

Then the RO shall review the application and provide the BMSR with:

• The rule under which the exemption can be granted;
• The rule from which the exemption is sought
• Conditions/mitigating measures.

BMSR Documents of Approval

Approval of an application for a Permit, Permanent Exemption, or Equivalence is officially granted by the BMSR with the issuance of one of the below documents:

• Single Voyage Permit;
• Temporary Permission;
• SOLAS Exemption Certificate
• Load Line Exemption Certificate;
• Permanent Exemption;
• Permanent Equivalence.

The Temporary Permission and Single Voyage Permit are both permits.

A Temporary Permission, unless otherwise stated in a convention or code, is generally issued for a maximum period of three (3) months but may be issued for longer periods in special cases (e.g., if repairs need to be carried out in a dry dock or spare parts are unavailable) and be re-issued if the defect cannot be rectified in time. In some circumstances.

A Single Voyage Permit is a permit with validity only for a single voyage.

A Permanent Exemption, SOLAS Exemption Certificate, and International Load Line Exemption Certificate are all exemptions and are linked to and retained with their associated statutory certificate.

A SOLAS Exemption Certificate is issued for an exemption from a provision of SOLAS, as listed in Annex of SLS.14/Circ.115 and based on the form provided in SOLAS.

A Load Line Exemption Certificate is issued for an exemption as per Article 6 of the LLC and based on the form provided in the LLC.

A Permanent Exemption is issued for an exemption from the provision of any other IMO convention, such as MARPOL, BWMC, etc.

A Permanent Equivalence is issued for an equivalence to any IMO Convention.

Exemptions and Equivalences are communicated to the IMO, through the IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).

As per SLS.14/Circ.115, when a Permit, an Exemption, or an Equivalence is issued, port State authorities should interpret this as meaning that the vessel complies with the provisions of the Convention.

Port State authorities, whenever needed, can check the validity of a BMSR Permit, Exemption, or Equivalence on the BMSR portal, or use the barcode on the electronic certificates issued by the BMSR.

For a BMSR Permit, Exemption, or Equivalence without a barcode, Port State authorities can contact BMSR by emailing ops@barbadosmaritime.com.

Act now

Ship Owners, Managers, Operators, and Surveyors should take note of the contents of the Bulletin and be guided accordingly.