The Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic(FAL Convention) covers in its Standard 2.1 a detailed list of certificates which public officials can ask for a ship & suggests the maximum information & number of copies which should be needed.
IMO has generated standardized forms for 7 of these documents (effective until 1 January 2018), which are:
- IMO General Declaration (FAL form 1)
- Cargo Declaration (FAL form 2)
- Ship’s Stores Declaration (FAL form 3)
- Crew’s Effects Declaration (FAL form 4)
- Crew List (FAL form 5)
- Passenger List (FAL form 6)
- Dangerous Goods (FAL form 7)
2 other documents may be needed under the Universal Postal Convention & the International Health Regulations.
The general declaration, cargo declaration, crew list and passenger list comprise the maximum information necessary. The ship’s stores declaration & crew’s effects declaration include the agreed essential minimum information requirements.*
Following the amendments adopted by FAL 40, new FAL Forms will be in force from 1 January 2018 and can be downloaded as follows:
New FAL Forms to be operative from 1st Jan. 2018:
- General Declaration (FAL Form 1)
- Cargo Declaration (FAL Form 2)
- Ship’s Stores Declaration (FAL Form 3)
- Crew’s Effects Declaration (FAL Form 4)
- Crew List (FAL Form 5)
- Passenger List (FAL Form 6)
- Dangerous Goods (FAL Form 7)
Certificates
All ships are prescribed to carry certificates that set up their seaworthiness, type of ship, competency of seafarers & so on. These certificates are issued by the flag State of the ship & may be examined by the port State control officers. Certificates to be carried on board ships are listed in FAL.2-Circ.131-MEPC.1-Circ.873-MSC.1-Circ.1586-LEG.2-Circ.3
They include (some dependent on type of ship):
- International Tonnage Certificate;
- International Load Line Certificate;
- Intact stability booklet; Damage control booklets;
- Minimum safe manning document;
- Certificates for masters, officers or ratings;
- International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate; Oil Record Book;
- Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan;
- Garbage Management Plan;
- Garbage Record Book;
- Cargo Securing Manual;
- Document of Compliance & Safety Management Certificate (ISM Code).
* 3 additional declarations will enforced from 1st Jan. 2018 which will bring the number of documents to 12. These are: security-related information as required under SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974), advance electronic cargo information for customs risk assessment purposes & advance notification form for the waste delivery to the port reception facilities.
