Ship Reporting Requirements

Vessels Required to Provide Notification:

1. United States registered vessels regardless of size;
2. All foreign vessels greater than 300 gross tons and that are either going to or coming from a U.S. port or place;
3. Foreign vessels of any size that are heading to or coming from a U.S. port or place that are experiencing an emergency while crossing the reporting area.

All ships other than those described above, including sovereign immune vessels ***, are encouraged to participate.

Notification Procedure

Passage through the Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) requires one entry and one exit notification. Entry notification must be provided within 72 hours of entering the PSSA and exit notification must be provided within 12 hours of exiting the PSSA. Please provide notifications in the above required IMO format and syntax for vessels with e-mail capability. For vessels that do not have on-board e-mail capacity, alternate arrangements are available (e.g. fax, phone). All reports should be in English.

Further reports should be made whenever there is a change in navigation status or circumstances, particularly in relation to item L, Q or R of the reporting format. Vessels required to provide notification that are navigating through an Area to Be Avoided (ATBA; see map and coordinates here) must report when leaving the Reporting Area and entering the ATBA and again when leaving the ATBA and re-entering the Reporting area.

If reports are not submitted by those vessels required to report and the vessel can be positively identified, appropriate action will be taken.

Why Is Vessel Notification Mandatory?

The objective of the CORAL SHIPREP ship reporting system is to increase knowledge of ship movements and facilitate a timely response to any developing maritime emergencies.

The 10 nautical mile wide reporting area surrounding the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument serves to remind vessels of the existence of this important Particularly Sensitive Sea Area before they enter and allows sufficient time to comfortably alter their course to comply with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-adopted Areas To Be Avoided.

In the event of a maritime emergency, vessel notifications serve as valuable background information to coordinate response efforts in this remote area. Credit: James Watt.

* Categories of hazardous cargoes means goods classified in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code; substances classified in chapter 17 of the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (IBC Code) and chapter 19 of the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gasses in Bulk (IGC Code); oils as defined in MARPOL Annex 1; noxious liquid substances as defined in MARPOL Annex II; harmful substances as defined in MARPOL Annex III; and radioactive materials specified in the Code for the Safe Carriage of the Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Flasks on Board Ships (INF Code). Vessels may, for reasons of confidentiality, communicate that section of the report which provides information on general categories of hazardous cargo by non-verbal means prior to entering the reporting area.

** In accordance with the provisions of the MARPOL Convention, ships must report information relating to defects, damage, deficiencies, or other limitations as well as, if necessary, information relating to pollution incidents or loss of cargo. Safety related reports must be provided to CORAL SHIPREP without delay should a ship suffer damage, failure or breakdown affecting the safety of the ship (Item Q), or if a ship makes a marked deviation from a route, course or speed previously advised. Pollution or cargo lost overboard should also be reported without delay (Item R).

*** The ship reporting system adopted by the IMO specifically exempts all sovereign immune vessels such as warships and other government ships operated for non-commercial purposes from the reporting requirement. Vessel sovereign immunity is interpreted in light of relevant provisions of international instruments, such as the IMO-adopted ship reporting system, Article 36 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and Chapter 5, Regulation 1 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.