Equasis
Equasis (abbreviation for European Quality Shipping Information System ) is a platform on which safety-related maritime data about shipping companies and seagoing vessels can be publicly viewed and exchanged free of charge after registration, in order to improve safety and quality in maritime shipping and shipping that are not internationally recognized Norms to decrease.
history
At the Quality Shipping Conference in Lisbon in June 1998, participants such as ship owners, cargo owners, insurers, brokers, classification societies , shipping agencies , port and terminal operators decided to enable better access to information from the maritime industry. As a result, the European Commission and the French shipping administration decided to jointly set up an information system in which the data from various safety-relevant sources and organizations should be bundled on one page. The lack of transparency in the data from the oil tanker Erika , which sank in 1999, showed how necessary a neutral information site like Equasis was.
The principles according to which the system called Equasis was built can be summarized as follows:
- Equasis is intended to be a tool to reduce substandard shipping and to be limited to safety-related maritime data.
- Equasis is dedicated to the public and has no commercial interests.
- Equasis is intended to be an international database for the entire marine fleet and to work together with all those involved in the maritime industry.
- Equasis will be a tool for better ship selection, but only work on a voluntary basis without any legal pressure on shipping.
As a common information system for shipping, Equasis is intended to improve the neutral exchange of information and transparency in merchant shipping and to provide those involved with a better overview of the quality of ships and organizations in the respective work area. Equasis also contains information about the past of a ship (change of owner, manager, name etc. as well as results of past port state controls ).
Equasis went online on May 17, 2000, rapidly gaining popularity, and widespread industry support in the years that followed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations considered Equasis 2008 to be the most promising basis for building a global register of all fishing vessels.
organization
The signatories of the first Equasis Memorandum of Understanding in 2002 alongside the European Commission and the French Maritime Administration were the authorities of Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. The United States initially had observer status, but signed the Equasis MoU in 2011.
Equasis is governed by a membership oversight committee that meets twice a year.
Today's members are:
- France (founding member)
- European Commission (founding member, represented by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) since 2003)
- Japan (member since 2002)
- Spain (member from 2002 to 2012, observer from 2013 to 2015, member since 2016)
- United Kingdom (since 2002)
- United States (observer since 2002, member since 2011)
- Norway (since 2008)
- Canada (since 2009)
- South Korea (since 2009)
- Brazil (since 2013)
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) also has observer status.
The following states were temporarily members:
- Australia (2005-2009)
- Singapore (2002-2003)
The organizations that contribute data and the users are represented by a processor board. The master data of the ships are obtained from IHS Markit . In addition, data from the following organizations are processed:
Classification societies
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
- Bureau Veritas (BV)
- China Classification Society (CCS)
- Croatian Register of Shipping (CRS)
- DNV GL
- Indian Register of Shipping (IRS)
- Korean Register of Shipping (KRS)
- Lloyds Register (LR)
- Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK)
- Polish Register of Shipping (PRS)
- Registro Italiano Navale (RINA)
- Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)
- Türk Loydu (TL) since 2010
- Dromon Bureau of Shipping (DR)
- Overseas Marine Certification Services (OMCS)
- Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia (BKI)
- Phoenix Register of Shipping (PhRS)
- Emirates Classification Society (TASNEEF)
P&I clubs and insurance companies
- American Steamship Owners Mutual P&I Association (American Club)
- Assurance forum Gard
- Assurance forum Skuld
- Britannia Steamship insurance Association
- Japan Shipowners P&I Association
- London Steam-Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association (The London Club)
- North of England P&I Association
- Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association
- The Shipowners' Mutual P&I Association
- The Standard P&I Club
- The Swedish Club
- The West of England Shipowners - UK P&I Club
- Hydor AS, since 2014
Daily operations are managed by an administrative unit. This task has been carried out by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon since 2009. The technical operation of Equasis is handled by the shipping administration of the French Ministry of Transport in Saint-Malo.
literature
- Jacques Benard: The Online Fight Against Substandard Shipping: Promoting Quality and Transparency in Shipping . In: Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council , Volume 65, Number 1, United States Coast Guard, 2008, pp. 24-27
Web links
- Website of Equasis (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Z. Oya Özçayir: Port State Control , Informa Law, Abington, 2004, Chapter 8 Equasis , no page numbers.
- ^ Maritime security in the Baltic Sea region: Documentation of the work of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Parliament on the subject of "Maritime Security" within the framework of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Parliament (ed.), 2001, p. 550.
- ↑ Jörn-Ahrend Witt: Obligations and Control of Flag States: Developments and Perspectives in International Law and EU Law . LIT Verlag, Münster, 2007, p. 273.
- ^ Report of the Expert Consultation on the Development of a Comprehensive Global Record of Fishing Vessels: Rome, February 25-28, 2008 . FAO Fisheries Report No. 865, FIIT / R865. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2008, p. 54 (English).