Maritime Transport Operator Plan for
Write Company/Operation name
OPN: Number
Vessel: Name vessel
MNZ:Number
Insert photograph of your vessel here
This maritime transport operator plan (MTOP) template provides guidance for operators so they candevelop an operator plan that meets the requirements of Maritime Rules Part 19 – Maritime Transport Operator– Certification and Responsibilities.
This template is primarily intended for a small operation with only onefishing or passenger vessel and few staff, but many elementsare appropriate for larger operations. Where additional requirements apply to larger vessels, such as pollution prevention, this is flagged in the template.
Any feedback about this template can be given to your local Maritime Officer.
NOTE:
- The information provided is to guide you and for you to reference.It will help you to develop your own operator plan.
- Each heading in bold black font is a requirement under Maritime Rules Part 19, so do not delete these.
- If you already have procedures and plans that work for you, continue to use them. Just ensure you remove all references to the old Safe Ship Management system or the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE)Act 1992.
- You may add or copy those procedures into this document.
- Ensure that your plan is specific to your operation and vessel(s).
- Your plan will be assessed by Maritime NZ after you apply for a Maritime Transport Operator Certificate.
As you work through this template, remove all of these guidance notes and references in RED.
MTOP Acknowledgement Sheet
Name / Position / Plan read & acknowledged Y/N / Date / SignatureTable of Contents
MTOP Acknowledgement Sheet
1.Management and policy
Full legal name of the operator
Operation name
Overview of the operation and its maritime activities
Primary ports and area of operation
Vessel categories
Activities
Overview of the organisation
Operation contact details
Operator policy
2.Control of information, records and documents
Location of Maritime Transport Operator Certificate
Location of Maritime Transport Operator Plan
Sharing the operator plan with crew and personnel
Review and continuous improvement of operator plan
Vessels entering and exiting the operation
Crew qualifications and records
Operational limits for fishing vessels
Operational limits for non-fishing vessels
Accident and incident recording and reporting of notifiable events
Harmful substances discharge reporting and recording
Ship’s log
Trip reporting
Overdue vessel
Audits of operator plan by Maritime NZ
3.Health and safety
Policy
Management of risks
Risk register
Fatigue management
Drugs and alcohol
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Health monitoring of crew
Environmental policy
Conditions in which the operation is conducted
Skipper and crew duties and responsibilities
Transportation of passengers (commercial/non-commercial Use)
Visitor policy
Safe transportation of cargo and goods (including fishing equipment and dangerous goods if applicable)
Hazardous substances
4.Crew familiarisation and training
Induction and training
Emergency drills and on-going training
5.Vessel manual
Vessel details
Category & activities
Current vessel certificates
6. Safe operating procedures
Fishing operations
Use of emergency equipment
7. Emergency procedures
Dangerous goods
Fire
Person overboard
Medical emergency
Diving medical emergency
Mechanical failure
Stricken ship (grounding, collision, capsize, sinking)
Vessel grounding
Pollution control
8. Vessel maintenance and equipment checklists
Hazardous substances inventory
9. Survey plan
10. Vessel records and sign-off sheets
Record of skipper and crew details
Record of drills and on-going training
Record of incidents, accidents and mishaps
Record of safety plan reviews
Record of hazard reviews and changes
Record of external audits, inspections and surveys
Maintenance log
Record of maintenance plan amendments
Record of survey plan amendments
Visitor sign-in register
Skipper induction checklist
Crew induction checklist
Crew training record
Emergency Drill Schedule
11. Operation, vessel and crew documents
1.Management and policy
Full legal name of the operator
Give the full legal name of the organisation or person who holds, or will hold, the Maritime Transport Operator Certificate (MTOC) when it is issued by Maritime NZ. This should match the name on the official registers, such as the Companies Office register if your operation is a company,e.g. S F Fishing Charters Limited.
Operation name
Write the operation name. This may be a trading name, e.g. “Stu’s Fishing Charters”
Overview of the operation and its maritime activities
Describe your operation, including an outline of the commercial categories and the main activities undertaken by your vessels.
Do you use the vessels non-commercially? If so, describe the circumstances and who is involved. How will you ensure the vessels are safe during those activities?
Will the vessels be allowed to be usedby others without the express consent of the owner? For example, if you employ or engage someone else to operate your vessel and they bring in a relief skipper. You cannot transfer or contract out of your legal duties so you will still be responsible for the operation of those vessels.
Describe how you will ensure that any vessels operated non-commercially will remain fit for purpose and in survey. See the rule below in relation to displaying your vessel’s Certificate of Survey (CoS) that is issued by your surveyor (not Maritime NZ). Remember, there may be conditions on the reverse side of the CoS that need to be known by the crew and others.
Primary ports and area of operation
Name the vessel’s home port and list any other ports or harbours that the vessel may visit
Where does your vessel operate? Name the area and then type in the operating limits off your Certificate of Survey. You may wish to include a chart.
Vessel categories
- Passenger
- Non-Passenger
- Fishing
- Sailing
Delete any of the above categories if your vessel is not surveyed for those.
Activities
Describe the activities of all ships in your operation, including any non-commercial use.
Overview of the organisation
Write an overview of the organisation. Where is it based? Where is the vessel berthed/moored/ stored?
Who does what (skipper, administration, search and rescue)? Will you take on other skippers if required?
Operation contact details
Physical & mailing address
Write your contact addresses here.Note: the address for delivery may be different to the postal address.
Contact people in the operation
Name / Position / Contact phone numberResponsibilities assigned to fit and proper persons
Person responsible for compliance / Area of responsibilityName / Maritime transport operation / Resourcing of the operation / Crew training and competency assessments / Operational decisions
Operator policy
Describe here who is in charge of the operation. Who makes decisions for the operation and for the vessel when it is at sea? Who decides if the vessel goes out today? Who gives briefings? Who conducts training? Who is responsible for conducting reviews of the operator plan, maintenance plan, survey plan and risk register?
2.Control of information, records and documents
Location of Maritime Transport Operator Certificate
The MTOC is issued to your operation by Maritime NZ. Where will the MTOC be displayed/stored?The original MTOC must be ashore and you may have a copy on board if you wish to.
Location of Maritime Transport Operator Plan
This document is called the MTOP, operator plan or simply just the plan. Where will the MTOP be kept?What format will the operator plan be in e.g. a hard copy on the vessel, hard copy at home/ office, electronic e.g.kept on the computer tablet or on a memory stick?Keep the original MTOP ashore and you may have a copy on board if you wish to.
Sharing the operator plan with crew and personnel
Who will have access to the plan? Who will the plan be made available to? In what format will the plan be available? How can they access the plan?The crew and others should have the opportunity to comment and suggest changes. How can they do that?
Review and continuous improvement of operator plan
When will reviews be completed e.g. annually and/or following any accidents, incidents or notifiable events? Who will conduct the reviews? Who will help? How will they be done and where will the findings from the reviews be recorded,e.g.record sheet, diary?
There is a ‘Record of Operator Plan Reviews’sheet at the back of this template.
Vessels entering and exiting the operation
How will you notify Maritime NZ about any new vessels added to or exiting from your fleet?
For example, “A change of vessel status form and an application to amend our MTOP will be submitted to MNZ. Vessel specific policies and procedures will be added or removed as necessary.”
Crew qualifications and records
How will you keep track of your skipper and crew qualifications (Certificates of Competency)? Where will you record those qualifications? How will you keep track of expiry dates?
Minimum qualifications (Certificates of Competency) required for operation
Skipper
What is the minimum certificate of competency a skipper needs to hold to operate your vessel(s) within the surveyed limits?
Crew
What qualifications, if any, do you require your crew to hold?Will your vessel be crewed as per the requirements of Maritime Rules Part 31?
Operational limits for fishing vessels
Delete this diagram if you don’t need to have this in your plan, e.g.if you have a passenger-only operation.
Operational limits for non-fishing vessels
Delete this diagram if you don’t need to have this in your plan, e.g.if you are only a fishing operation.
Accident and incident recording and reporting of notifiable events
Policy
Describe your policy and understanding of the types of events that need to be recorded here in your MTOP and those events that need to be notified to Maritime NZ.
For example, “We understand and will comply with our legal duties under the MTA and HSWA to record all accidents, incidents, mishaps involving serious harm and notifiable events and we will know which events need to be notified to MNZ.”
Definitions of accident, incident, mishap and notifiable events
Procedure
How will you ensure that events will be recorded here in your MTOP and how will certain events be notified to Maritime NZ?
For example,
“Details of any accidents, incidents, mishaps and other notifiable events that occur will be recorded in the vessel logbook and notified to MNZ by phone or online as soon as possible. The information will then be copied into the Incident and accident register (kept at the back of this plan) at a more suitable time.”
You may wish to adapt this easy two-step process advice for reporting a maritime event to Maritime NZ to suit your operation:
- First you need to report your event verbally as soon as possible. Verbal reports can be made by:
- phoning MNZ’s Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ). This service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Free phone 0508 222 433, or
- contacting MNZ’s Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) on VHF Channel 16. This service also operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Information will be transferred to RCCNZ immediately after it is received.
- Fill out an online event form as soon as you can.
Follow the easy to use, step by step form online and click submit. This will automatically send your information to MNZ.
Web site:
Following this procedure will fulfil your MTA and HSWA duties for reporting events. HSWA also requires that records are kept of all notifiable events for at least five years from the date Maritime NZ was notified.
Harmful substances discharge reporting and recording
What is your policy for reporting and recording any incidents where harmful substances are discharged into the marine environment?
Procedure
What process will you follow to report and record any incidents where harmful substances are discharged into the marine environment?
Reports may be made to RCCNZ or the Maritime Operations Centre in the same way as any other notifiable event. Or, if the discharge is within a region, (within the 12NM limit) the report can be made to the relevant regional council.
Ship’s log
What will you record in your logbook and when?
Details of tripsshould be recorded in the vessel logbook including (but not limited to) the following:
- Weather forecasts
- General movements
- Passenger and crew numbers (POB)
- Incident, accidents, mishaps, notifiable events
- Mechanical failures
- Discharges of harmful substances
- Hazards to navigation
- Notable radio communications
- Non-commercial use
- Training and drills
- Tidal information
- Trip reports and details of person ashore
- Main & auxiliary engine hours
- Pre and post trip checks completed
Trip reporting
Who will complete the trip reports? When will they be lodged? Who will be contacted? Where will trip reports be recorded? For example, in the vessel’s logbook, or in a diary ashore? Is there a secondary contact in case the primary contact is unavailable?
Shore Base–Name of person and how to contact them
Secondary contact – Name of personand how to contact them
What will your trip report consist of?
The trip report should include:
- Vessel name and call sign
- Departure point and destination (area of operation)
- POB(total of all people on board including the skipper and crew)
- Next scheduled contact time
Overdue vessel
Write your overdue vessel procedure here.
What happens if the vessel doesn’t arrive at the expected time or a planned radio contact is missed? Describe what the shore-based person must do. When is the vessel considered to be overdue or missing? Who will report the vessel overdue or missing and after what period of time will that call be made? Who will be contacted? For example, Police 111, RCCNZ 0508 472 269.
Will the person reporting the overdue vessel be able to tell the Police or RCCNZ the last known position, time of last contact, number of people on board, direction heading etc.?They will be asked these questions, so the more information they can provide, the smaller the search area will be and the sooner the vessel will be found. Survival of those on board depends on time.
This overdue vessel procedure must be linked to the trip reports.
Audits of operator plan by Maritime NZ
Detail any external audits of your operation. For example, “External audits, conducted by Maritime New Zealand, will be undertaken with the full cooperation of (name person or company etc.).”
There is a ‘Record of external audits, inspections and surveys’ sheet at theback of this template and this should be used to track those audits etc.
3.Health and safety
Policy
Add your health and safety policy here. For example;
“We will ensure our crew and others on board are offered the highest level of protection against harm that we can reasonably provide them with. We use WorkSafe NZ and MNZ publications, such as the booklet,Health and Safety -A Guide for Mariners, as our reference and guidance.”
When developing your operator plan, bear in mind how HSWA works with the Maritime Transport Act Page 8 of the Guide for Mariners states:
- Compliance with the maritime rules does not automatically mean compliance with HSWA.
- HSWA complements the maritime rules and compliance with the rules goes a long way toward compliance with HSWA,and in some cases may exceed what might be expected under HSWA.
- A key difference is that the rules are generally prescriptive and set minimum standards for entry control, whereas duties under HSWA are on-going and must be met so far as reasonably practicable.
You should be mindful that HSWA duties sometimes extend beyond complying with the rules or following a maritime safety system. In particular, MOSS may not specifically address the following HSWA duties:
- Overlapping duties where contractors and other companies come on board your vessels. You must consult with them before they start work and then co-operate and co-ordinate your activities.
- Upstream duties of the designers, manufacturers, suppliers and installers of plant on your vessels. You should follow any manuals or guidance they provide to you.
- Officers’ due diligence to ensure the operation is fulfilling its legal obligations.
- Duty to manage asbestos.
- Worker engagement, participation and representation. Giving your crew and others the opportunity to be involved in developing your safe operating and emergency procedures.
- The requirement to provide facilities.
You may include these and any other health and safety issues into the appropriate parts of this MTOP. They don’t need to be kept somewhere else.
Management of risks
Policy
Add your risk management policy here. For example;
“We are aiming for zero-harm within our operation. We will use the procedure described in this MTOP to identify and manage our risks.”
Hazard identification and control procedure
Describe how you are going to identify hazards.What training will be conducted for hazard identification? Who will take part in hazard identification? Where will any newly identified hazards (or potential hazards) be recordede.g.in the vessel logbook or diary? Who will record this?What happens next? What will you do with any hazard that cannot be eliminated?