Response to Journalist

Date of issue 8 August 2017

Palau International Ship Registry (PISR) has taken the initiative in the issues of final voyages for vessels intended for scrapping with a paper submitted to the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee in March 2017. We submitted proposals in partnership with the Philippines and South Africa relating to the issues related to safety of navigation, the environment and the crew.

The concern of PISR is that many registries simply issue blank exemptions for these vessels and there is an urgent need for greater clarification and guidelines for these voyages.

We understand the risks and the dangers to the environment, the vessels and people that can result from the blanket issuing of final voyage certificates. It is not something PISR agrees with and with the support of 32 countries in the IMO we are pressing for these regulations to be reviewed and tightened, asking for IMO guidelines on how a ship destined for scrapping should be certificated and regulated.