MSC.1/Circ.1221

11 December 2006

 

VALIDITY OF TYPE APPROVAL CERTIFICATION FOR MARINE PRODUCTS

 

1          The Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-second session (29 November to 8 December 2006), recognized concerns that misunderstanding may exist among port State control officers regarding some of the Type Approval certificates issued for marine products.

 

2          To clarify the purpose and procedures of the Type Approval certification scheme used by the flag States, classification societies and other recognized bodies; the Committee agreed that such scheme include the following steps:

 

 .1      engineering evaluation;

 

 .2      witnessing the manufacturing and testing processes;

 

 .3      evaluating the manufacturing arrangements; and

 

 .4      issuing of a Type Approval Certificate generally valid for not more than 5 years which may be subject to annual inspections or verification of the manufacturer’s process after all the above-mentioned procedures have been satisfactorily completed.

 

3          The Committee also agreed that the validity of the Type Approval Certificate itself has no influence on the operational validity of a product accepted and installed onboard a ship and that a product manufactured during the period of validity of the relevant Type Approval Certificate need not be renewed or replaced due to expiration of such Type Approval Certificate.

 

4          Member Governments are invited to bring this decision to the attention of the national Authorities in charge of port State control activities and all other parties concerned.