According to Lloyd’s Register, the 27 member states of the Paris MOU (Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control) have advised they will carry out a Harmonized Verification Program (HAVEP) on operational controls on passenger ships in 2013. The HAVEP will last for 12 months, beginning on 1 January, 2013, and ending on 31 December, 2013.

During the HAVEP, Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will witness an operational control comprising a standard emergency scenario. This will include a simulated machinery space fire, a passenger evacuation and muster drill and an abandon ship drill which will include lifeboats being lowered to the water and taken away under power.

Attention will also be given to the on-board decision support system, ship/shore communications, SAR plans, records of crew training, supply of emergency power and operation of watertight doors.

The main purpose of the HAVEP is to verify that: in the event of a shipboard emergency the crew can organize themselves into an effective team to tackle the emergency; the officers and crew can communicate effectively with each other and with shore-based support and rescue services; the Master is in control and information is flowing to/from the command centre; and in the event of the situation getting out of hand the crew and passengers can safely abandon the ship.

PSCOs will use a questionnaire listing the items to be covered during the HAVEP. All items will be verified in more detail for compliance with related items in SOLAS Chapters II, III and V.

The HAVEP will be time consuming and will involve the majority of the crew for part of the day. In order to provide some flexibility, owners and operators may liaise with the Paris MOU regarding their cruise schedule to determine a suitable port to carry out the HAVEP, bearing in mind operational considerations such as passenger turn around.

When deficiencies are found, actions by the port state may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period, to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified. Detentions will be published on the Paris MOU web site in the monthly detention list. It is expected that the Paris MOU will carry out approximately 500 inspections during the HAVEP.

The results of the campaign will be analyzed and findings will be presented to the governing bodies of the MOU for submission to the IMO.

The MOU organization consists of 27 participating maritime Administrations and covers the waters of the European coastal States and the North Atlantic basin from North America to Europe.

Its mission Our mission is to eliminate the operation of sub-standard ships through a harmonized system of port State control.

More than 24.000 inspections take place annually onboard foreign ships in the Paris MoU ports, ensuring that these ships meet international safety, security and environmental standards, and that crew members have adequate living and working conditions.