Chapter 27
Fresh water requirements.
Essential safety programme to complete; for -example, lowering lifeboats.
:Stores to load.
Deck surveys.
Essential work programme in port.
Chiif Engineer Bunkers to load.
Essential maintenance work.
CSM or engine surveys.
Spares to load or land.
Shore technicians as required.
2nd Officer
Port navigational requirements.
Medical or dental treatments.
To the above list must now be added any special port requirements such as rat guards, brows,
;communications, signals, and port regulations, ifthey :are known.
It is not suggested that only those officers listed ,deal with all the specified items above. On a well managed ship, with a modern company approach, all .officers should have their individual responsibilities .delegated and cross-departmental management should be in place. However, as we all know, we do not always :sail with officers of management abilities or in .companies that recognise shipboard management; and it is not unusual for the whole list to devolve to the master and chief engineer. Having established our list of requirements for the port, the next phase is forward preparation.
Forward
preparationIn this phase we are trying to pave the way, as far as possible, for the ship and those who we will be
<lealing with in the port. The more work put in before you arrive, the less there will be to do on arrival.
Port papers
The crew list should always be sent ahead. In the
·case of the US a 'visa-ed' crew list is required to be :sent ahead and this causes considerable problems, with these lists often arriving after the ship.
Some ports will accept computerised customs forms and crew lists in lieu of their own: unfortunately these are few and far between. Perhaps in some far- sighted time countries will issue their forms on disk.
Or, even better, we will be able to 'sign on' at the first port with our own disk, which holds all the information required, and this will automatically pass with only the updated changes required. For the moment, though, the port papers must be prepared by hand in .advance. In many cases, when you are going to a port for which you do not have the forms, these can be requested in advance or even possibly faxed to you if this is acceptable. If the port will accept any other forms being faxed, this will all help on the day.
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Cargo documents
It is essential that the cargo stowage or discharge plan together with the ballasting arrangements are sent to the port as soon as possible. Then, should there 'be :any dispute, the issues can be clarified prior to the .ship arriving.
If any changes are requested and made, again send your changed plan. On your final plan you might
·consider stating that there will be no changes made to this final plan as they will inevitably be requested within hours of arrival.
The worst case will be when, having sent your plans, there is no reply from the terminal and, when you arrive, it then requires the whole plan to be ,changed. At least when this happens, and it will, the :ship cannot be blamed for any delays incurred.
'The agents
A word regarding agencies. The days when the :agent visited the ship are gone, unless you are a cruise :ship with a nice restaurant and female company. Now the ship will be visited by a boarding clerk whose ,experience will be variable.
The agency itself may not feel it is representing you anyway, as it could be ihe charterer's agent that your owner or management is using. It might be worthwhile to fmd out if your company is paying a proportion of the agency's costs as this will then allow you to refu te thi s argument - which y ou will certainly hear some time in your career in command.
Next, the agency might be a division of the terminal which you are using and no other agency is allowed to compete.
The worst case scenario is that the agency is a division of the charterers and the charterers own the terminal. Here they can often behave as they please .and there is not a lot that can be done about it
The agency today, therefore, can be of such variable quantity that nothing can be taken for granted.
It must not be assumed that they have all the information, either. Communications within the port organisation can vary greatly with the terminal often not advising the agency of changes or matters that may effect your ship. Equally, the fact that you have requested your company to arrange a surveyor or technician to attend on arrival is no guarantee that this has been done. In other words, regardless of what you may think has been arranged, presume the agency has no information
You should advise the agent as follows:
Your requirements regarding presentation of manifests etc prior to discharge.
Normally all dealings with the port/terminal are through the agent. However, if this is not the case, the agent should also be sent a copy of the crew list and cargo.
This page is missing.
If you have original book, please scan this page and send to:
The page will be added to e-book and file updated and re-uploaded.
Customs forms. Read the requirements with care.
Most ports find the entry 'personal effects' quite acceptable but there are those that require every single item belonging to the crew to be listed.
Health forms. Few ports have their own form and any health form is generally acceptable.
Vaccination lists. Very few ports still insist on this:
generally you should make your own.
Arms or ammunition. List or state none. Make your own list.
General stores declaration. This is a peculiar form which seems - in some cases - to go back a couple of centuries, when you still required to list the cordage and tar carried on board When this is required, each country will have its' own list for completion.
List of previous ports. Make your own list, which can be required to show ports visited up to three months previously.
Drug list. Make your own and state where they are held.
Stores or spares to be landed. List them ready for the agent and customs.
Ship's certificates. These are the statutory trading certificates such as the safety certificate. In some ports they will be inspected 'in situ' by a number of agencies. In others the agent will take the certificates required ashore. Ensure a receipt for these is obtained.
I am sure that this list is not comprehensive, but it should cope with the majority offorms required by most ports.
Offidal visitors
Ashore, by which I mean in the normal world of business, it is customary to make appointments before visiting. Not so with a ship. The presumption is that everyone on board is instantly ready to deal with
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anyone who appears. Thus port state, customs, coastguard, and any other inspectorate body tend to appear out of the woodwork, usually at the worst times.
They do not contact the agents or even the terminal.
It does no harm to ask the agent if any of these organisations intend to visit the ship, to request that their visitbe planned for a convenienttime. It is, after all, your ship - another novel concept for many in the port organisation.
If there really is no one readily available to assist whoever has appeared, then explain the problem and ask for their patience. On the grounds of safety alone, visitors should not be allowed to wander around the
ship alone.
Visitors to the ship should be 'signed in' in a visitors' book and they should sign an indemnity form, especially if they are spending some time in the working areas of the ship.
Conclusion
There is much wrong with the present relationship between ship and port, but it is not the aim of this chapter to debate this issue. The aim is to highlight the problem areas and guide the potential new master through these. Think of the three Cs - Communication, Calmness and Courtesy - as a guiding theme.
No port is the same; equally each country has regulations pertinent to it and its government. In some you are treated correctly and with courtesy, in others you are an up market able seaman.
Either way, yourjob is the same, to have the ship entered in and cargo work commenced as soon as possible, to respect that country's laws and comply with the port regulations during your ship's stay. If you can do this, then y ou have done your job as master.