Italian class society RINA has completed a pilot project with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to expand the data exchange capability of the EMSA THETIS information system for Port State Control inspections.
THETIS is a single window system combining port call information (from the SafeSeaNet system also hosted by EMSA) with inspection data. Currently, Recognised Organisations at EU level are required to enter data about ship certification processes into the system, including the location and date of inspections, the type of certificate issued, its date of issue and expiry.
The pilot project with RINA tested a new feature that would see additional technical data added from within the certification documentation, including linking of full e-certificates within THETIS. With the pilot having been completed successfully this feature is now in production and THETIS is able to receive and manage data from the International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) certificate and its supplementary information, including information relevant to the geometry of the ship.
From the user perspective, this offers the benefit that the link to the validation site can also be used to provide immediate verification of the status of their e-certificates. Each e-certificate is allocated a unique tracking number (UTN) in accordance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) guidelines, which allows Port State Control officers to check their validity through THETIS prior to boarding a vessel.
Following the initial progress on the project RINA says that preparations are being made to extend these capabilities further to cover a wider range of ship certificates.
“I would like to thank RINA for joining EMSA in this pilot project. Digitalisation and ultimately simplification of maritime transport is one of our strategic goals in line with the Union priority of ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’ and e-Certification is an important milestone in this process,” said Maja Markovčić Kostelac, Executive Director of EMSA.
