Failure to declare ship’s fire extinguishers and CO2 results in fines

Steamship Mutual  P&I  Club informed that various ship owners have recently been fined because of an alleged failure to declare to Senegalese customs how much CO2 is on board the vessel in the ship’s fixed fire-fighting system.

According to the Club, this is a new trend in general, which imposes fines to operators.

Senegalese custom authorities are now requiring both gases inside the ship’s fixed firefighting system as well as the gas content of portable fire extinguishers to be declared. The CO2 is considered as part of the ship’s stores by the Customs.

No official notification has been made by the customs, Streamship Mutual Club mentions, however the Senegalese authorities are applying article 74 of the Customs Code more vigorously.

Operators are recommended to liaise with their local agents to ensure that correct declarations.

Steamship Mutual Club provided an updated list of items to be declared, which are the following:

    Paint inventory

    Crew list

    Cargo manifest (with goods in transit if any)

    Bills of lading

    Crew effects

    Ports of call list

    Bonded store

    Food provisions

    Chemicals

    Foam

    CO2

    Fire extinguishers

    Bunker declaration

Furthermore, according to the customs code, the following must be declared as well:

    The cargo manifest with, if required, its authentic translation in Senegal’s official language,

    The special manifests of the ship’s stores and crew personal effects,

    The charter parties or bills of lading, acts of nationality and any other document which may be requested by the Customs for the enforcement of the Customs rules,

    The foreign vessels are exempted from the submission of the act of nationality. They are only obliged to show it to the Customs office,

    The summary declaration must be made even if the vessel is on ballast.