What are the Continuous Synopsis Record and the Common Structural Rules, and how do the two CSRs differ?
Short answer
| Continuous Synopsis Record | Common Structural Rules | |
|---|---|---|
| Body | IMO, SOLAS XI-1/5 | IACS |
| Subject | the ship’s administrative history | hull scantlings and strength |
| Applies to | every SOLAS chapter I ship | bulk carriers and oil tankers of 90 m and above (CSR-H, contracted from 1 July 2015) |
| Kept | on board, never erased, revised within three months of a change | embedded in each society’s rules, under the SOLAS II-1/3-10 goal-based standards |
- Continuous Synopsis Record (SOLAS XI-1/5): the ship’s on-board history: flag and registration date, IMO number, name and port, owner, bareboat charterer, the Company, class societies, the Document of Compliance, SMC and ISSC issuers.
- Rules of use: revised by the Administration within three months of a change; previous entries never deleted; left on board at transfer; format A.959(23).
- Common Structural Rules (IACS): harmonised hull-strength rules for bulk carriers and oil tankers, merged into CSR-H for ships of 90 m and above contracted on or after 1 July 2015.
- They prescribe: scantlings, net thickness with corrosion additions, fatigue and direct strength analysis, under the IMO goal-based standards (SOLAS II-1/3-10).
- Distinction: a document recording identity (IMO, all SOLAS ships) versus a structural standard (IACS, bulk carriers and tankers 90 m and above).
- As Chief Engineer: the record is shown at PSC and never erased; the rules set the corrosion additions my thickness readings are judged against.
Full answer
The full answer explains each point step by step, with the regulations and figures behind it and the discussion from other candidates. It is in the MEO Class I section of the Marine One forum, open to members enrolled for the MEO Class I exam.