A commercial yacht manning advisory has been issued by the Maltese Merchant Shipping Directorate (MMSD) to remind all yacht owners about manning responsibilities.
Under Section 17 of the Malta Commercial Yacht Code (CYC), all yachts of 24m and above in length have to carry a valid Minimum Safe Manning Certificate, while yachts uner 24m must follow the minimum safe manning requirements as detailed in Section 17.
The Minimum Safe Manning Certificate (for yachts > 24m) and the Safe Manning Scales (for yachts < 24m) are applicable for all international and domestic voyages. As detailed in Section 17 of the CYC, the number of crew may be reduced when a yacht is not operational and is laid-up and/or wintering at berth. Continue reading “Maltese authorities issue commercial yacht manning advisory”

The Sub-Committee on the Implementation of IMO Instruments (III) 9th session took place 31 July to 04 August 2023 where, among other things, the draft amendments to the Procedures for Port State Control were finalised.
The European Committee for drawing up Standards in the field of Inland Navigation (
The Black Sea MoU has published its Annual Report on Port State Control in the Black Sea region, covering the period between 1st January and 31st December 2022.
The Paris MoU has published its 2022 Annual Report, which provides an overview of its activities and statistics for last year. According to the report ship inspections have normalised compared to the two previous years. Inspections could be carried out again at a level that is customary for the Paris MoU.
This article has been extracted from the much longer main report and covers specific aspects of the TSB marine transportation safety.


In its report on a May 9, 2022, incident that saw a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Radiance of the Seas, strike a cruise terminal pier causing $2.1 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identifies overreliance on an ECDIS electronic chart, miscommunication and an outdated navigational chart as all factors in causing the strike.