Who is responsible for keeping certificates up to date on a vessel?

• A. The Environmental Officer
• B. The Master
• C. Port State Inspector
• D. Chief Engineer

Answer: (A)

The Master is responsible for keeping all vessel certificates up to date. He or she has overall responsibility for the ship’s safety, compliance, and regulatory documentation, ensuring that every required certificate—such as SOLAS safety certificates, life-saving appliance certificates, radio licenses, and any class or flag certificates—is valid, renewed before expiry, and aboard for inspections. The Environmental Officer focuses on environmental procedures and monitoring, not on maintaining the ship’s certificates. The Chief Engineer handles engineering-related certificates tied to propulsion and machinery, but the ultimate duty to track and renew certificates rests with the Master. Port State Control inspectors verify certificates are in order when they inspect, rather than maintaining them.