Pre-Arrival Information

Procedures to check the Ship Security Pre-Arrival Information

The master or the ship agent submits the pre-arrival Pro-Forma of every ISPS compliant vessel to the Operations Department, together with the ship notice, by fax or by hand, before the vessel enters the Maltese port. This is normally affected 24 hours prior to arrival.

Each Pro-Forma is collected by the MSCD at regular intervals, which are morning, mid-day and afternoon.

The information written on the Pro-Forma is checked. The checking of the Pro-Forma concerns:

1. The name of the ship;
2. IMO Number;
3. The Registered FlagState;
4. Scheduled arrival date in Malta;
5. International Ship Security Certificates (ISSC), the date and by who it was issued;
6. At what level of security the ship is operating, because if the ship is operating with higher level than the Port, the PFSO of the port facility must be informed;
7. The name of the last ten ports since the 1st of July 2004 and what was the Security Level of the ship during those ship/Shore Interface;
8. Any special arrangements been taken by the ship/port interface at the last ten ports of call;
9. Appropriate procedures been followed during any ship/ship activity during the last ten ports of call;
10. Any other practical security related information, for example any suspicious activity during the voyage; and
11. The name of the agent and company responsible of the vessel.

If the Pro-Forma is not fully completed or is not compliant with the current Maltese Policies, the agent or the captain of the ship is contacted by the MSCD (by phone or e-mail) and asked to clarify/correct and resubmit the information.

After 6 hours, a reminder is sent advising that the relevant action in accordance to the ISPS Code may be taken and could lead to delay or refusal of entry of the vessel.

PortState to be informed for relevant action as identified in SOLAS regulation 9.2.4/5.

Pro-Forma’s are scanned and stored in a soft copy form. Hard copies are kept for three months rotating and then destroyed.

The introduction of the Port Net System will enhance the Pro-Forma checking process, making it faster and more efficient.  The Implementation date was the end of 2007.