Ship Sanitation Certification system
In accordance with Article 39 of the International Health Regulations 2006 (IHR), all vessels travelling in international waters are required to hold a current Ship Sanitation Control Certificate or a Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate.
This global system aims to minimise the risk such vessels may pose to public or international health.
These certificates must be renewed at least every six months, so ship sanitation control inspections need to be undertaken at six-monthly intervals. Health officers are available to undertake a ship sanitation control inspection if the certificate is due to expire within the next month or before a vessel's arrival at the next port.
Ship sanitation certificates
The IHR provides for two types of ship sanitation certification.
Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificates
These are issued when a public health authority has inspected a ship and found no evidence of:
- Significant infection or contamination
- Vectors or reservoirs of infection
- Microbiological, radiological, chemical or other risks to human health
- Signs of inadequate sanitary measures.
Ship Sanitation Control Certificates
These are issued when a ship does not meet the above criteria, but a public health authority is satisfied that the procedures necessary to rid the ship of any infections, contaminations, or their vectors or reservoirs have been effectively carried out.
Arranging ship inspections
Vessels or their agents should request inspections for ship sanitation certificates when they provide their New Zealand Advance Notice of Arrival Form (New Zealand Customs Service website). The relevant public health unit will then determine if the visit times are appropriate for a ship sanitation survey to be conducted at the port of arrival.
Port health officials will confirm survey timings with the ship’s agent or grant an extension if timings are not feasible. Requests for inspections during ‘silent hours’ (at night or at weekends) should be discouraged unless there are compelling reasons.
Given the hazards present at working ports, surveys may be deferred until it is safe to do so (eg, after cargo has been loaded or unloaded).
Officials have the authority to grant up to a 30-day extension to any as long as its ship sanitation certificate is valid when the extension is granted.
Conducting ship inspections
Health officials conducting surveys will look at general sanitation conditions on board the ship with regards to the public health risks these may pose. Inspections focus on disease vectors such as rodents and arthropods, and conditions associated with high-risk infections.
Inspections will likely include:
- Liaising with the Ship Master or Executive Officer
-
Checking documentation, including:
- Hazard control programmes
- Ship sanitation certification
- Maritime Declarations of health
- Ship’s logs, medical logs and (for passenger vessels) gastrointestinal illness logs
- Integrated pest-management plans
- Ballast water certificates (MAF BNZ staff validate these)
- Ship potable water records (chemical and bacteriological testing records and certification of source quality for last loaded bunkered water)
- Waste disposal records
- Food source and storage records
- Food-handling standard operating practices
- Sanitation audit log.
- Checking rodent guards are on all mooring lines and correctly orientated
- Physical inspections of key areas of the vessel, such as:
- All accommodation
- Galley
- Food storage
- Engine room
- Holds
- Forepeak
- Open lifeboats
- Water storage tanks/water pipes
- Waste-water holding tanks/sewer pipes
- Solid-waste storage and disposal
- Open containers on the decks that have trapped water
- Deck crane bases.
On completing the physical inspection the Health Protection Officer will report to the Ship’s Master or Executive Officer to discuss the ship’s condition and any directives for remedial or control measures.
Hazards that may affect the crew, and occupational health and safety risks, do not form part of regular ship sanitation certificate inspections. They are the responsibility of the bodies regulating the maritime industry.
Ports approved for ship sanitation certification
New Zealand ports authorised as being able to issue ship sanitation certificates include:
- Opua*
- Whangarei
- Marsden Point
- Ports of Auckland (including Onehunga)
- Devonport Naval Base
- Taharoa*
- Tauranga*
- Port Taranaki
- Gisborne*
- Napier
- Ports of Wellington
- Nelson
- Picton*
- Lyttelton Port of Christchurch
- Timaru
- Westport*
- Port Otago
- Bluff
NOTE: Those ports with * have only been approved to undertake inspections and issue ship sanitation certificates, and cannot undertake fumigation of ships. Ports not designated to issue ship sanitation certificates may make a note on the existing certificate and the vessel can then be inspected at its next designated port.
Milford Sound is a port of first arrival, but only for passengers to disembark. The competent authority is Public Health South, Southern DHB.
Downloads
Page last updated: 05 December 2011
Twitter
Facebook