Panama Canal Authority (ACP) via their Advisory to Shipping No: A-25-2004 made it mandatory that all vessels at Panama Canal Waters with carrying capacity of 400 METRIC TONS or more of oil as cargo and/or fuel must carry onboard an approved Panama Canal Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (PCSOPEP) as well as comply with the Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO) requirements, with effect from January 1, 2004. The carrying capacity of a vessel is equal to the sum of oil cargo tank and fuel tank capacities. ACP will be the sole approving authority for PCSOPEP.  

PCSOPEP shall be submitted to the ACP at least 72 hours ahead of the vessel’s arrival at the canal waters.

A PCSOPEP has to contain additional information than a traditional SOPEP mandated by MAPOL 73/78, Annex I. So having a SOPEP approved on behalf of the vessel’s flag state or mere submission of the existing SOPEP is not adequate for compliance with the ACP requirements for a PCSOPEP. To assist the shipping community in easily complying with the PCSOPEP requirements of the ACP, we have provided an easy to use online processing centre for preparation of PCSOPEP. The PCSOPEP template used in the online processing centre has been reviewed and accepted by the ACP. 

In addition to having an approved PCSOPEP, the Panama canal requirements also call for having an Authorized Person (AP) in Panama for each ship transiting the canal for acting as a liaison between the Canal Authorities and the vessel in case of an incident. We have duly trained personnel who not only meet all the criteria laid down by the requirements, but can meet your expectations from a professional incident manager. The contact information for the AP appointed by the company is one of the information to be included in the PCSOPEP to be submitted for approval.

STEP 1: The new Panama Regulation requires an designated on shore Authorized Person (AP).

IRES (division of IRS) offers these services to the shipping community. Note that an AP must be secured in order to fulfill the requirements of the PCSOPEP manual. Please click on the above link for more details.

You can also contact us at pcsopep@intlreg.org.

STEP 2: Fill in and download your PCSOPEP in PDF format.

Once you designate an on-shore Authorized Person you can fill out and download (and print) your PCSOPEP on the web. Simply click below to fill out the information and print out your form. Don't worry - if you don't have all the information ready you can start the form, leave off, and resume where you left off. Click here to see some sample PCSOPEP's.

Price $150.00 - Please click here to register and fill out your PCSOPEP