Shipping - Papua New Guinea National Maritime Safety Authority
National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) is tasked with the responsibility for ensuring the safety of Papua New Guinean flagged vessels and foreign flagged vessels in Papua New Guinean ports, and the seafarers on board.
National and International conventions and regulatory frameworks provide the standards enforced by NMSA.
NMSA’s International activities include:
- Issuing certificate of competency for all seafarers on Papua New Guinean ships operating under the Merchant Shipping Act 1975 (link to legislation) which are specified in the International Conventions on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978 (commonly referred to as ‘STCW’);
- Providing flag state control inspection in ensuring compliance with International Conventions for ships flying the Papua New Guinean flag, including vessel certification;
- Providing port state control inspection undertaken in compliance with International Conventions and obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);
- Ensuring the safety of seafarers in accordance with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), an international convention developed under the International Labour Organization (ILO). This provides the framework for NMSA to monitor and regulate the working and living conditions of seafarers at sea;
- Implementing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations for all safety related aspects for marine carriage of all types including bulk liquid and solid cargoes, dangerous goods, general cargoes, containers, as well as standards and operations concerning cargo lifting gear; and
- Administering the registration of ships under the Merchant Shipping Act 1975 for Papua New Guinean owned and/or operated ships.