India revises guidelines for fire equipment maintenance on ships: circular update and new competency criteria

The Directorate General of Shipping, India has issued a circular with the addition of a new paragraph to Engineering Circular No. 6 of 2013.

The document was published on 14 July 2023.

This circular is addressed to all stakeholders (viz., ship owners, seafarers, shipping companies, Service providers, etc.) through DGS Website.

The DGS Engineering Circular No. 06 of 2013, provides guidelines for fire equipment maintenance on Indian ships.

An addendum to this circular was issued as Engineering Circular No. 01 of 2022, introducing revised guidelines for the maintenance and inspections of fixed carbon dioxide fire-extinguishing systems.

In the original circular (No. 06 of 2013), competent crew members for undertaking maintenance of Fixed Fire Fighting Systems on board were defined as those who hold STCW 78 as amended lll/2 unlimited certificate of competency (Foreign Going) and an Advanced fire fighting course certificate.

Recognizing the difficulties expressed by Indian ship owners and others in placing seafarers with STCW 78 as amended lll/2 unlimited certificate of competency (Foreign Going) on board near coastal vessels, it was noted that Coastal & Near Coastal ships are generally manned by officers with Near Coastal Vessel (NCV) certification.

To address this issue, a new paragraph (6.4.5) is added to Engineering Circular No. 06 of 2013. According to this new paragraph, "competent crew members" on coastal and near coastal voyages are now construed as those crew members who have completed the Advanced Fire Fighting course and hold a management-level Certificate of Competency as CEO/SEA for Near-Coastal Voyages.

This means that officers with NCV certification who meet these criteria can now be considered competent crew members for the maintenance of Fixed Fire Fighting Systems on board coastal and near-coastal vessels.

For more information, please see the documents below (available only to subscribers):

Addendum to Engineering Circular No. 6 of 2013, dated 19th August, 2013 (Addition of New Paragraph for Competent Crew Member)

Guidelines for Maintenance and Inspection of Fire Protection, Detection and Extinction Equipment Onboard Indian Ships