The procedure for supervision is determined by Cabinet Regulation No. 439 Adopted 7 June 2011 Regulations Regarding the Implementation of Flag State Supervision of Ships, Cabinet Regulation No. 49 Adopted 29 January 2008 Regulations Regarding the Safety of Ships and Cabinet Regulation No. 451 Adopted 14 June 2011 Regulations Regarding the Safety Requirements for the Passenger Ships Engaged in Domestic Voyages, as well as the relevant regulations of recognised classification societies.
Cargo and passenger ships may undergo a pre-registration survey carried out by the Maritime Safety Inspectorate of the Maritime Administration of Latvia prior to registration in the Register of Ships of the Maritime Administration of Latvia.
For cargo ships of up to 500 gross tonnage and inland waterway passenger ships, supervision is based on a five-year cycle, according to which every five years an in-depth inspection of the ship is carried out, referred to as a renewal survey, while an annual survey is carried out each year, and an intermediate survey is carried out at the dock in the period between the second and third annual surveys in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3 “Ship Surveys” of Cabinet Regulation No. 49 Adopted 29 January 2008 Regulations Regarding the Safety of Ships.
At the choice of the shipowner, supervision is carried out by a recognised classification society or by the Maritime Safety Inspectorate. If the ship is under the technical supervision of a classification society, the scope and frequency of surveys shall be determined by the classification society.
Passenger ships engaged on domestic voyages may be surveyed only by a classification society. The scope and frequency of surveys shall be determined in accordance with Chapter VI “Ship surveys” of Cabinet Regulation No. 451 Adopted 14 June 2011 Regulations Regarding the Safety Requirements for the Passenger Ships Engaged in Domestic Voyages.
In cases where the classification society carries out technical supervision of the ship, the Maritime Safety Inspectorate shall carry out additional inspections of the ship annually in accordance with paragraph 9.1 of Cabinet Regulation No. 439 Adopted 7 June 2011 Regulations Regarding the Implementation of Flag State Supervision of Ships.
