170 Certificate of Competency Revalidated

Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov. 8: The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration on 14.10.2024 had taken review of the grievances put forth by representatives of various Inland Vessel Associations, which were mainly related to Revalidation of Certificate of Competency (CoC) and Completion of Survey of Inland Vessels. Accordingly, Port Management Board (PMB) was mandated by the Chief Secretary to ensure that the two issues are resolved on priority and within a stipulated time frame. These issues were further deliberated by Secretary (Shipping) and directives were issued to constitute a Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Port Administrator, so that the Revalidation of Certificate of Competency could be completed in a transparent manner and in compliance to the provisions contained in A&N Inland Vessel Rules, 2016. The Committee constituted for Revalidation of Certificate of Competency held regular meetings and a total of 170 Certificate of Competency were revalidated.

Simultaneously, action was also initiated by PMB towards completing mandatory Surveys and issue of Form- 12 i.e. Certificate of Survey. It is pertinent to mention here that after review by the Chief Secretary on 14.10.2024, it could be ascertained that Survey formalities for 321 Inland Vessels were required to be completed.

Further, it is a matter of pride that the Survey formalities for all the 321 vessels have been completed and the required Certificate of Survey have also been issued. Constant persuasion and guidance of Secretary (Shipping) and resilient efforts made by PMB and DSS officials resulted in compliance of the directives issued by Chief Secretary in a time bound manner. It is further informed that PMB will ensure that all assistance is provided to facilitate the Inland Vessel (IV) Operators for sustainable development and fostering of Tourism Sector.