Inspections

During the stay in the port inspections take place on board ensuring that ships meet internationally safety, security and environmental standards and that crew members have adequate living and working conditions.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority regularly inspects ships to see whether environmental regulations are being adhered to. The inspectors look in particular at the disposal of ship waste. In the case of spills, the authorities always issue fines. A water pollution incident is cleaned up at the expense of the polluter. 
For more information, you can contact the Harbour Master’s Reporting Centre via VHF14 or
telephone +31(0)10 252 1000, or by e-mailing cmh@portofrotterdam.com. 

There are 24 supervisory agencies operating in the Water Transport domain. Together they are responsible for 72 different types of inspections. Not all the 24 supervisory agencies have the same level of activity, since many inspections are carried out only occasionally. 

These supervisory agencies participate in a joint initiative called the ‘Supervisory Reform Programme’, which aims for more efficiency and less inconvenience between supervising agencies. For more information, you can download the Water Transport Supervision Plan 2009.

The following supervisory agencies participate in the Water Transport collaborative partnership and systematically conduct inspections. During the course of 2009 additional information will be made available on www.inspectieloket.nl.

Supervisory Agencies

• Harbour Master Rotterdam
  is responsible for the swift, safe, clean and secure handling of shipping. This involves the supervision of operational safety and environmental issues, high-risk activities and compliance with relevant transport legislation.
  
  
• Labour Inspectorate
  monitors health and safety at work on
  the quayside in the port areas and aims to prevent labour market fraud. Inspection of working conditions on seagoing vessels is assigned to the Transport and Water Management Inspectorate (IVW). For Inland shipping the Seaport Police (ZHP) and the National Police Agency, Division Water Police (KLPD/DW) are designated as co-supervisors. http://www.arbeidsinspectie.nl(Dutch only)
  
  
• Customs
  supervises cross-border goods traffic based on tax regulations and, mainly on behalf of other ministries, based on rules with respect to health, safety, the economy and the environment. www.douane.nl.
  
  
• Transport and Water Management Inspectorate
  seagoing and inland waterway vessels, crews and carriers, and supervises the transport of dangerous
  goods www.ivw.nl
  
  
• Royal Marechaussee 
  is charged with border control in the seaports, with the exception of the Rotterdam port area. www.kmar.nl  and http://www.dutch-immigration.nl.
  
  
• National Police Agency, Division Water Police
  is charged with duties with respect to port safety and crime, nautical issues, the environment and traffic throughout the Netherlands and the North sea, with the exception of the Rotterdam port area. http://www.politie.nl/klpd/ (Dutch Only)
  
  
• Plant Protection Service 
  supervises the import of plants and products of vegetable origin to prevent plant diseases. http://www.minlnv.nl/pd
  
• Directorate-General for Public Works and Watermanagement 
  is manager of the main waterways in the Netherlands. It monitors compliance with traffic legislation and environmental requirements on these waterways.  http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl (Ducth only)
  
  
• Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority 
  

  supervises the import of food products, consumer products and animal feed. http://www.vwa.nl/portal/page?_pageid=119,1639634&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

• VROM-Inspectorate (Inspectorate of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment) 
  maakt daar deel van uit. monitors the rules with respect to dangerous materials, radioactive substances and waste (including shipping waste). Compliance with the EEC Regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the EU (referred to as ‘EVOA’ in Dutch) is a part of this. www.vrominspectie.nl.
  
  
• Rotterdam-Rijnmond Seaport Police 
  is charged with duties concerning border control, port security and crime, nautical issues, the
  environment and traffic in the Rotterdam port area. Responsible for the Port Expertise Centre (Havenexpertise-centrum) for information exchange between services.  www.politie-rijnmond.nl (Dutch only) and http://www.dutch-immigration.nl/