Fact sheet – Climatology and Climatic Variability of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Fact sheet – Port State Control in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Title of the course
Training workshop on Port State Control in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: Towards a regional MOU
Rationale
Port State Control (PSC) is the means established by IMO by which ports are authorized to inspect foreign (and national) ships to ensure that they meet required safety, construction, equipment and manning standards, and if necessary to detain the ships that fail to meet required standards.
Effective PSC requires close coordination between different parts at the regional level. In recent years, a few shipping disasters, causing alarming damage to the environment triggered the concern of several countries about protection of their coastal resources. Such concern initiated the first Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control between the European Countries, known as Paris MoU. Subsequently, several other Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control have been concluded.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is playing a major role in formulation of such MoUs. These include: Latin American MoU (Latin American region), Asia-Pacific MoU (Asia-Pacific region), Caribbean MoU (Caribbean region), Mediterranean MoU (Mediterranean region), Indian Ocean MoU (Indian Ocean region), West and Central African MoU (West and Central African region), Black Sea MoU (Black Sea region) and the Arab States of the Gulf Region MoU. US Coast Guards, though not a signatory to any of the MoUs, carries out port State control for compliance with the US Code of Federal Regulations and other International Maritime Conventions.
Six of PERSGA member states are parties to different MoUs: Djibouti, Sudan and Yemen are parties to the Indian Ocean MoU, Egypt and Jordan are parties to the Mediterranean MoU, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a party to the Arab States of the Gulf Region MoU. In 2002 a Workshop was convened by PERSGA in Jeddah, attended by PERSGA member states, Eritrea, representatives of ROPME member states and the IMO. At the Workshop the advantages of membership of one MoU on PSC for the region were stated. It has been recognized that while the states within the RSGA are members of three different MoUs on PSC and that two of these states are not members of any MoU, harmonizing their systems of ship inspections is not sufficient, which may not assist with the control of sub-standard shipping at a regional level.
Objectives
The main objectives of the workshop are to:

• Review the status of Port State Control in PERSGA member States
• Discuss approaches to adopt a regional MoU between PERSGA member States
• Develop a framework document and the draft regional MOU on Port State Control

Participants
Participants in this workshop shall include national officials responsible for Port Sate Control in the countries and other representatives of the line ministries and government agencies
The total expected number for this course is not to exceed 20 participants.
Date and Duration
The duration of the workshop will be three working days, and it will be conducted during July 26-28, 2010.
Location
PERSGA regional center for Emergency Mutual Aids in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (EMARSGA) in Hurghada, Egypt
Organizers
The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA); Proposed to be included in the PERSGA TC program with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for 2010-2011.
Language
The training language will be Arabic. English will be used an auxiliary medium where needed
Training Materials/References
Details to be provided at a later stage
Instructors/Keynote speakers
Details to be provided at a later stage g