Bahamas to introduce new Inspection Reporting System

TIN news:  The Bahamas Maritime Authority has developed a new inspection reporting system that is currently undergoing live testing. The new inspection reporting system has been developed with an aim to reduce the administrative burden of the current system and fully integrate inspection reporting with the Bahamas Online Registration and Information System (BORIS).
From the perspective of the Company the new system differs from the existing system as follows:
Inspection reports will be issued by the BMA, not the attending inspector. The reports will be sent by e-mail to the ship owners/manager by the BMA;
On completion of a satisfactory inspection the Certificate of Inspection issued by the attending Inspector will only be valid for 3 months;
The BMA will issue the definitive Certificate of Inspection once the inspection report has been satisfactorily reviewed by the BMA and the company has confirmed rectification of any outstanding deficiencies to the BMA by the specified due date(s). The COI will be sent to the company by e-mail – it is the responsibility of the company to ensure that it is sent to the ship and posted as required;
Automatic e-mail notifications for due and overdue inspections and outstanding deficiencies will be sent to the Company.
Live Testing
Live testing of the new reporting system is being undertaken by a number of Bahamas Inspectors throughout January and February 2016. During this period Companies should be aware that the new reporting system will be running concurrently with the existing reporting system.
Implementation
The new reporting system is expected to be fully implemented from March 2016.
Once roll out of the new inspection reporting system to all Bahamas Inspectors has been commenced a revised Bahamas Information Bulletin No.66 will be published to reflect the new Inspection Reporting system.