Written notifications for maritime declarations

Maritime declarations

Maritime declarations are given at maritime courts as provided in the Maritime Code. The purpose of maritime declarations is to fully identify all circumstances and actions leading to incidents, and to compile all related documentation. Masters of Finnish ships shall give a maritime declaration whenever

• during ship operations while the ship is at sea, somebody has died or been severely injured or this can be assumed to have happened;
• in other cases, during ship operations, somebody engaged on board the ship or carried on board has died or been severely injured or this can be assumed to have happened;
• somebody has died on board ship;
• a severe instance of poisoning has occurred or may be assumed to have occurred on board ship;
• there has been a collision with another ship or a grounding;
• the ship has been abandoned at sea;
• during ship operations, severe damage has been or has presumably been caused to the ship, or while the ship was at sea, damage has been caused to property outside the ship; or
• a severe fire, explosion or shifting of cargo has occurred on board.

Masters of Finnish ships must also give a maritime declaration following a maritime incident

• whenever Traficom so decides
• at the request of the master or the owner
• at the request of the cargo owner or the cargo underwriter if damage has been caused to the cargo.

If Traficom orders that a maritime declaration must be given or a cargo owner or cargo underwriter requests one, the master or owner must be notified. According to law, one of the two must give a written notification for a maritime declaration.

The purpose of maritime declarations is to fully identify all circumstances and actions leading to incidents and to compile all related documentation.

The written notification shall be submitted by email to Traficoms registry, alternatively the notification can be sent by post to Traficom.

Maritime courts

Maritime courts deal with cases to which the Maritime Code and other maritime legislation apply.

The courts of first instance that are competent in maritime cases are listed in the Maritime Code. They are:

• Within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal of Turku: the District Court of the Åland Islands in Mariehamn
• Within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal of Helsinki: the District court of Helsinki

Traficom’s role in maritime safety supervision

Traficom is the competent authority specified in the Ship Safety Control Act. We oversee compliance with the provisions on the safety of ships and are responsible for inspections, notifications and the provision and exchange of information required under the PSC Directive and the Inspection Directive.

Our officials oversee maritime safety in general and the observance of good seamanship. This involves acting as maritime experts in maritime courts when maritime declarations are given and, whenever necessary, in other criminal and civil cases that maritime courts deal with.