Thetis-Med PSC information sharing system now available

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(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The new information system THETIS-Med went live this month in what is seen as a milestone in the EU’s efforts to foster regional cooperation among Mediterranean countries. It will support the members of the Mediterranean Memorandum of Understanding (Med MoU) on Port State Control (PSC). It marks the beginning of a new era on how ships are targeted for inspection in the Mediterranean region, how these inspections are recorded, and how the results are made available for the exchange of information between EU and non-EU countries which are members of the Med MoU.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has announced that a new EU-backed information system called THETIS-Med, aimed at facilitating data sharing for port state control inspections among Mediterranean countries, has now gone live.

The system will be made available to members of the Mediterranean Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Med MoU) and aims to overhaul the way that ships are targeted for inspection in the Mediterranean region, as well as updating how these inspections are recorded and how the results are made available to EU and non-EU countries that are members of the Med MoU.

THETIS-Med was created as part of the European Commission-funded ‘EuroMed Maritime Safety’ project, commonly known as Safemed IV. This project aims at fostering regional cooperation among Mediterranean states, and a harmonised approach to PSC activities was seen as an important step in improving safety standards and preventing distortion of competition between operators and ports.

As such, EMSA was tasked with developing a PSC information system under the framework of Safemed IV following a request made at a Med MoU committee meeting in October 2017 in Cyprus, which led to the development of the new system.

THETIS-Med will be used to simplify the recording and online availability of inspection reports, and to further align member ports’ procedures with the Paris MoU by increasing cooperation between EMSA, EU member states and Safemed IV beneficiary countries.

“We are pleased to announce the new THETIS-Med system for port state control inspections. Its very existence is proof of the close cooperation among all the Mediterranean countries involved,” said EMSA’s Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac.

“While the system clearly strengthens the international maritime legal framework, it is also beneficial for certain EU countries which are members of other MoU as it removes the need for double reporting.”

THETIS-Med will be expected to handle thousands of inspections each year, combining port notification information with ship particulars and inspection details in near real-time, including a target factor for each ship in port and updates on their performance.

The system will also provide PSC Officers with a direct link to RuleCheck, a decision support tool developed by EMSA that contains a repository of international and EU maritime legislation.

The THETIS-Med system will support operations in Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey, with EMSA maintaining responsibility for hosting the system going forward, and providing helpdesk support to users. The Med MoU Information Centre (CIMED) in Casablanca will act as regional administrator.

For Thetis-Med portal, click here.

 

Source: EMSA

 

 

 

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