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MCA issues guidance for ships carrying UK residents out of UK ports this summer

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Saga’s Spirit of Adventure has attained Shield+ accreditation from Lloyd’s Register for coronavirus risk management
With 10 cruise lines having already announced plans to deploy ships carrying UK residents out of UK ports this summer, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued guidance on shipboard inspections and operational procedures.

These cover ‘expanded inspections’ by MCA surveyors prior to commencements of cruise operations and the need for COVID Management Plans to be verified by a third party.

The policy is regardless of previous inspection history.

Paris MOU of Port State Control

The expended inspections will be conducted under the remit of the Paris MOU of Port State Control says the MCA. (https://www.parismou.org/inspections-risk/inspection-types/expanded-inspection).

Where an inspection is conducted on a vessel which is not registered in the UK or a Red Ensign register (eg. Bermuda, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands or Cayman Islands) then the inspection will be recorded and an expanded inspection within the Paris MOU,  ‘regardless of the priority for inspection within that organisation’, it states.

The scope of the inspection conducted on UK registered vessels will be decided on a case-by-case basis dependent on the level of oversight maintained by the MCA during the period of the pandemic, but such oversight must reflect the condition of the vessel as it is intended to re-enter passenger service.

COVID-Management Plans need third party approval

MCA will not assess the effectiveness of the specific protection measures put in place on board within the framework of a return to service but cruise operators using the framework will be verified by a competent, independent third party to ensure their COVID-19 Management Plans meet the standards contained in the framework documents says the MCA.

During inspections MCA will verify that the vessel holds a COVID-19 Management Plan and that the plan has been subject to an external verification in accordance with the framework, providing assurance on the management of risk.

A vessel not holding a COVID-19 Management Plan, or unable to demonstrate that it had been externally verified, ‘could result in a prohibition from the carriage of passengers if the relevant risks have not been assessed and mitigated.’

MCA advises inspections should be planned in advance to enable them to be appropriately resourced and are not a chargeable activity.

SCN has reported resumption of sailings this summer from the UK by Celebrity, Cunard, Disney, Fred Olsen, MSC, P&O, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Saga and Viking.