Have port or terminal practices affected your ability to carry out mandatory drills, safety-related maintenance, testing or other essential shipboard safety activities while alongside or at anchorage?
Ships are required to maintain safety readiness at all times, but in practice the opportunity to carry out drills, testing and safety-related maintenance is often limited to short windows in port or at anchorage. Cases have recently been brought to our attention by members where ships have faced restrictions, refusals, delays, additional conditions or charges when seeking to carry out such activities during port stays or at anchor. So we are launching a short scoping exercise to understand whether these experiences reflect a wider industry issue.
The activities concerned may include, for example, lifeboat and rescue boat drills, fire drills, enclosed space entry or rescue drills, main engine immobilisation, safety-critical maintenance, testing of safety equipment, hot work, or the attendance of riding squads and service technicians.
We recognise that ports and terminals may need to manage genuine safety, traffic, security, operational and environmental risks. However, where safety-related activities cannot be carried out during suitable port or anchorage windows, the consequences may extend beyond inconvenience. Drills or maintenance may be postponed, carried out at sea or in less suitable conditions, create difficulties during third-party inspections, or have implications for crew workload.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to help BIMCO understand whether further evidence-gathering, industry coordination or engagement with relevant authorities may be needed.
Please help by completing the survey and sharing your experience.
The survey will remain open until 30 June 2026.
