Free Pratique And Fumigation

Objective : To know the process of releasing Free Pratique Certificate, Port Health Clearance, Ship Sanitation Control Certificate (SSCC) and Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate (SSCEC) To get the information on the process of fumigation done on the ship for the purpose of sanitary operation To get the knowledge on the regulations and laws used to release those certificates as well as performing the fumigation

Introduction : Certificate of free pratique is a certificate from the Port Klang health authorities, which is given to a ship that is without infectious disease or plaque on board. Once the ship has received the certificate, then it will then be permitted to enter Port Klang and the people inside the ship will be allowed to board and disembark. Fumigation in the other hand is the action of releasing a toxic chemical in the gaseous state to control a targeted pest. In order to do the fumigation, an ideal fumigant needs to be used. Fumigant is a chemical which, at the required temperature and pressure, exists in the gaseous state in sufficient concentrations to be lethal to a targeted pest. The fumigant used during fumigation process at Port Klang is hydrogen cyanide. Hence, the Hydrogen Cyanide Act 1953 is used.

Discussion : Based on Article 35 and 36 in International Health Regulations (IHR) 1969 : International Health Regulations (IHR) 1969 CHAPTER IVHEALTH MEASURES ON ARRIVAL Article 35 Whenever practicable States shall authorize granting of free pratique by radio to a ship or an aircraft when on the basis of information received from it prior to its arrival, the health authority for the intended port or airport of arrival is of the opinion that its arrival will not result in the introduction or spread of a disease subject to the Regulations.

International Health Regulations (IHR) 1969 CHAPTER IVHEALTH MEASURES ON ARRIVAL Article 36 1. The health authority for a port, an airport, or a frontier station may subject to medical examination on arrival any ship, aircraft, train, road vehicle, other means of transport, or container, as well as any person arriving on an international voyage. 2. The further health measures which may be applied to the ship, aircraft, train, road vehicle, other means of transport, and container shall be determined by the conditions which existed on board during the voyage or which exist at the time of the medical examination, without prejudice, however, to the measures which are permitted by these Regulations to be applied to the ship, aircraft, train, road vehicle, other means of transport, and container if it arrives from an infected area. 3. Where a health administration has special problems which could constitute a grave danger to public health, it may require a person on an international voyage to give on arrival a destination address in writing. Health inspections at the berth and port upon the arrival of international ships and vessels are done as comply with the provisions in IHR. The Article 35 and 36 in IHR has stated that Port Klang health authorities can carry out the health inspections to the crews of ships and vessels which come from international voyage. Any addition actions that are necessary to be done to the ships which come from any endemic country of Yellow Fever or Plague can be carried out by the Port Klang health authorities. These activities are done in order to prevent the infectious diseases to spread into Malaysia.

Free Pratique Certificate Upon the arrival of a ship to Port Klang, the shipping agent or the Master of Vessel must issue an arrival notice which is the Advice. Shipping agents are required to submit forms PKP 02 / PKP 03 to Port Klang Health Office at least 24 hours before the arrival of the vessels to know the status of the ships. A status either free or quarantine will be given to the ship after full consideration of information stated in the form. This is the duty of Assistant of Environmental Health Officer (AEHO) of Port Klang Health Office. Shipping agents are required to fill the following particulars in the form:

i. Last three ports visited within 14 days ii. Validity of Ship Sanitation Control Certificate (SSCC) / Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate (SSCEC) iii. Any passenger or crew sick on board iv. Any stowaway on board

Below is the definition of free pratique based on International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005. International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 PART I DEFINITIONS, PURPOSE AND SCOPE, PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES Article 1 Definitions free pratique means permission for a ship to enter a port, embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores; permission for an aircraft, after landing, to embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores; and permission for a ground transport vehicle, upon arrival, to embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores;

Free Vessel : A ship is a Free Vessel if the ship is deems to be healthy. This is true if the terms below are followed :

i) ii) iii) iv)

SSCC / SSCEC has not yet expired and still valid Crews and passengers are all healthy No death occurs on the ship since the last departure The last port of departure is not the endemic country of Yellow Fever or Plaque

This ship will then be given the Free Pratique Certificate and will be allowed to disembark. This ship is a ship of Status A. Shipping agent then needs to submit documents below together with the copy of PKP 02 that already had been approved. The documents are :

i) ii) iii)

Maritime Declaration of Health Original copy SSCC / SSCEC List of crews

iv) v)

Voyage memo Yellow fever vaccination certificate of crews and passengers if have

AEHO will check and examine all the documents as soon as he receives them from shipping agent. The examinations of the documents include : i) Maritime Declaration of Health : The answers must comply with the needs of

International Health Regulations (IHR) which mean, there is no case of Plague, Yellow Fever, death because of an infectious disease or any unusual death of rats. ii) iii) SSCC or SSCEC is valid All the crews and passengers are in a good health and there is no death occur on the ship iv) v) There is no unusual death of rats There is no stowaway on the ship

Examination on the documents must be compared to the notice of arrival (Advice) which is the PKP 02 form, to ensure that all the documents followed the notification form send by the shipping agent. AEHO can then release the Port Health Clearance by himself, or he can just propose the idea to Health Officer if he satisfied with the examination of the documents. In case if AEHO do not satisfy with the examination of documents he already made, then he can propose the idea of ship inspection to the Health Officer. The inspection of the ship will then be done by AEHO, and after satisfy with the condition, Port Health Clearance can then be released. But if during the ship inspection the AEHO do not yet satisfy, then another ship inspection can be done again by respective AEHO. After he has satisfied with the second inspection, then Port Health Clearance will be released.

Quarantine (Q) Vessels : A ship will be a Quarantine (Q) Vessel if it arrives from an endemic area of Yellow Fever or Plague or in other condition which might constitute any public health risks. It will be boarded and inspected by the Health Officer on the arrival at the berth. The Master of Vessel or the shipping agent must ensure that, without the permission of the port health authority, no person other than a pilot, a customs officer or immigration officer can board or leave a ship until "Free Pratique" or Port Health Clearance has been granted. Ship will be taken this action, if the information in the arrival notice relate with the any of particulars below : i) ii) iii) iv) SSCC / SSCEC has been expired and not valid Any crew or passenger in the ship has been sick There is a death occur on the ship since the last departure The last port of departure is one of the endemic or epidemic country for Yellow Fever or Plague This ship will not be given the Free Pratique Certificate, but will only be given a permit to stay at the berth. This ship is of Status B. In some cases a ship may be a Quarantine (Q) Vessel which it will be inspected at designated quarantine anchorage. The ship required to board at the quarantine anchorage have any of the criteria below : i) ii) iii) There is a case of infectious disease among the crews or passengers There has been a case of death caused by infectious disease Lasts ports of departure are all from the epidemic countries of Yellow Fever or Plague iv) There is the unusual death of rats on the ship

This ship is of the Status C. As soon as the ships arrive at the berth or quarantine anchorage, health examinations must be done. The ship must be inspected first by the health authorities, which is the health personnel from Port Klang Health Office before other agencies are allowed to check and inspect the ship. The health examinations to the crews and passengers are done by AEHO. Free Pratique Certificates are then released and given to the shipping agents.

Free Pratique Certificate and Port Health Clearance will be released to the shipping agent or Master of Vessel when all the below criteria are followed : 1. All the documents needed are complete and followed the arrival notice (Advice) which is the PKP 02 form. 2. SSCC / SSCEC is valid and not expired yet 3. All the requirements in Maritime Declaration of Health are complied 4. The inspection of ship is satisfied. No infestation of rats and good ship sanitary. Any ship which does not comply with any of the criteria will be taken the actions stated in Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act (PCIDA) 1988. Some of the actions will be done include the fumigation, if there is the infestation of rats on the ship, ship sanitation activities as well as the prevention and control of infectious disease. Invalid or expired SSCEC or SSCC can be solved by requesting the renewal of it to the health authority. Shipping agent need to prepare a letter of request, and send it to Health Officer. Ship inspection will be then done by using the Rodent Inspection Report for Renewal of SSCEC / SSCC. If the ship is believe to be already clean, then Free Pratique Certificate and Port Health Clearance will be given to the shipping agent. The report on Rodent Inspection for Renewal of SSCEC / SSCC is given to Health officer. SSCEC will be released if Health Officer satisfied with the report prepared. If the ship is believed by Health Officer not be clean enough, an Order of Ship Sanitation will be given to the shipping agent so that fumigation will be done on the ship. Finally, SSCC will be given after all the measures on destroying the infestation of rodents have been taken.

Fumigation

If a ship is believed to be not clean, then the ship will receive a command to clean the ship, which includes the process of disinfection, disinsecting, deratting, and other sanitary operations. An Order of Ship Sanitation will be given by Health Officer of Port Klang Health Office to the Master of Vessel or the shipping agent. Fumigation will be done if the ship has been infested by rodents. Below is the flow chart for fumigation to take place :

Order of Ship Sanitation will be given to shipping agent

AEHO receive "D Form"

AEHO inspect ship before fumigation is done

Fumigation process by the licensed fumigators (certified by MOH)

SSCC is released by Health Officer to the shipping agent

AEHO receive a copy of "F Form" and a "G Forms"

Exposure of gas (hydrogen cyanide) to the space

Releasing of "E Form" to the crews of ship

Fumigation is defined as the process of releasing and dispersing a toxic chemical that reaches a targeted pest in the gaseous state. Assistant of Environmental Health Officer (AEHO) will receive D Form which is the notice of fumigation. AEHO have to check the documents from the shipping agent which include the name of company that will carry out the fumigation, as well as date and time of performing the fumigation. It is very important to ensure that the fumigation operators to be certified with Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia. The VE flag will be used at daytime. If fumigation process is continued until night, then fumigation signal light will be switched on. Fumigation process will be performed well with the help of an ideal fumigant. Currently, the fumigant used at Port Klang is hydrogen cyanide. The used of hydrogen cyanide will prevent the infestation of rodents as well as killing them.

V + E Fumigation Flag There are four process of fumigation. The process are :

(1) Pre-Fumigation

Before fumigation is done, ship must be checked first to ensure that there is no leakage during the fumigation. All the equipment on the ship must be wrapped with 3 layers of plastic. The rationale to do so is that, the gas used which is hydrogen cyanide can travel through 2 layers of plastic. Hence in order to ensure the effectiveness of fumigation process that will be done, leakage of gas must be avoided. Torchlight as well as spotlight can be used while checking the ship. Doors have to be ensured that there are no holes at them. Close all stairwells and interior doors and replace any broken panes. Tightly wedge and lock all exterior doors and windows and seal or tape the cracks. Check for any cracks on the floor, roof, and around the eaves and seal them. This process takes about one hour to be done. All compartments will be checked to prevent the leakage of gas so that adverse effects to the peoples health can be avoided. Signage as well as notices will be put and pastes at certain places to ensure that there will no entrance of people to the place of fumigation. The notices must be in four languages. As for Malaysia, the languages include Malay, English, Chinese and Indian language. All crews of the ship will be given E Form which is the notice to leave the place of fumigation before the fumigation is done.

The rationale of four languages at the notice pasted is to ensure the understanding of people surround the place which may from different races so that they will avoid the place of fumigation

(2) Fumigation Process

During this process, only licensed fumigator will be allowed to be at the place where the fumigation will be done. AEHO must ensure that the fumigation process is done exactly at the time stated in D Form. Fumigants are broadly toxic and hazardous to use, and thus fumigations must be done by highly skilled and experienced, licensed fumigators. Fumigators should be familiar with the general considerations in pesticide use: the laws and regulations governing pesticide registration and application; safety, environmental effects of pesticides; pest biology and pest recognition; and labels and labelling. Usually, the fumigators are from the certified private sector that will be paid to fumigate the respective space. In order to ensure the health and safety and to prevent injury or loss of life of fumigators if they are likely to be exposed to gas levels above the allowable limits, they must wear proper personal protective equipment such as respirator, safety helmet, gloves and protective clothing.

Picture above shows an image of fumigator who wears proper personal protective equipment

Signage will be put on in order to avoid the entrance of crews during fumigation process (3) Ventilation / Aeration

After 6 to 8 hours, the space that has been fumigated will have to be opened for about 8 to 10 minutes to allow the air circulation into it. This step is important to avoid the gas inside the confined space cause an explosion if there is no ventilation, as the gas becomes hotter as time goes by. The space must be then close again and wait until 24 hours for the hydrogen cyanide to react effectively and to ensure that it will be fully cleared. The reason why the space is open just for about several minutes is to avoid the gas to be spread out and cause adverse effect to the surrounding as hydrogen cyanide can cause severe effects to living things. Even though hydrogen cyanide reacts faster in killing pests such as rats, it also can kill other animals such as birds. Hence, fumigators must ensure that the opening of space that has been fumigated is just 8 to 10 minutes only, and must not more than that.

(4) Space Opening

The space can be fully opened after 24 hours from the time the space been fumigated. Before the space is opened to crews and passengers, gas detector or gas detector will be used by the fumigator to test the concentration of gas inside the space. Assistant of Environmental Health (AEHO) will then take pictures of the space which had been fumigated, and collect all the rats killed. The rats also will be then count and destroy. Water from the pipe inside the ship will be allowed to flow for about 5 to 10 minutes, and any foods as well as beverages found after the fumigation process will be destroyed. AEHO will be then given the copy of F Form which is a notice of safe to stay released by operator of fumigation to the captain and crews of ship. A G Form which is the report of fumigation by the operator will also be received by AEHO. AEHO will then show the report to the Health Officer of Port Klang Health Office, and propose the idea of releasing the Ship Sanitation Control Certificate (SSCC) to the shipping agent. Finally, the SSCC is released by Health Officer after satisfied with the sanitary operations.

Conclusion :

In a nutshell, the provisions in the International Health Regulations (IHR) 1969 & 2005, Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act (PCIDA) 1988 and Hydrogen Cyanide Act 1953 must be used and referred, in order to ensure the health and safety at the point of entry. Health inspections must not be taken for granted and must be emphasized by the Port Klang health authorities so that there will no transmission of any infectious diseases especially the Yellow Fever and Plague.

Recommendation : Before the ship inspection be done on the ship, health authorities should ensure themselves to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as vest, safety shoes and safety helmet, and bring along important equipment such as beg, Free Pratique Book, Port Health Clearance Book, Ship Inspection Form, UV Light and torchlight. For the fumigation process, only trained and licensed fumigators be allowed to perform the task. The fumigators should wear proper PPE such as safety boots, safety helmet, safety clothing, gloves as well as respirator, and should know all the safety measures to avoid any unwanted accidents.

Related Law : International Health Regulations (IHR) 1969 & 2005 Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act (PCIDA) 1988 Hydrogen Cyanide Act 1953