Port State Control Committee News

The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) announces the appointment of Captain Dwain E. Hutchinson as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Captain Hutchinson succeeds Commodore Davy F. Rolle, who stepped down as Director last year.Captain Hutchinson is a proud Bahamian from Nassau, New Providence island, where he completed his tertiary education before commencing his maritime studies in Scotland at Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. Qualified with a UK Master Mariner (Unlimited) STCW Certificate of Competency…

Qatar signed the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (IOMOU) on Portal State Control during its participation in the 21st Port State Control Committee Meeting held last week in Australia, where a delegation from Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications took part.“Qatar’s membership in the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding will take Qatar’s maritime transport sector from local arena to the international one, leading the region in portal state control field,” said Dr. Saleh Fetais al-Marri, General Supervisor of Maritime Transport Affairs at the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC).The Memorandum will contribute…

In a bid to harmonize port state control inspection procedures that will lead to the elimination of substandard shipping in the West and Central Africa sub-region, the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will host its 3rd Ministerial Conference and 9th Port state Control Committee Meeting with the aim of developing a unified system of Port State Control inspection procedure for the region. The Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for West and Central African Region generally referred to as Abuja MoU is one of the 9 Regional MoUs and national MoU established pursuant to IMO Resolution A.682 (17) of 1991. The Organization operates under a Cooperative Agreement with the IMO.

The concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) on safety of navigation was carried out in the Tokyo MoU region from 1 September 2017 to 30 November 2017. Within the campaign, Tokyo MOU member Authorities verified vital points of compliance in accordance with SOLAS Ch. V on all types of foreign merchant ships. During the CIC, member Authorities inspected a total of 6,720 vessels, of which 36 (0.54%) were detained as a direct result of the campaign. In total 157 (2.34%) ships were detained during the campaign. The highest number of inspections were carried out on ships flying the flags of Panama 1,876 (27.92%), Hong Kong (China) 650 (9.67%), the Marshall Islands 610 (9.08%) and Liberia 543 (8.08%).

Aiming to verify that the minimum standards for working and living conditions have been implemented for crews working on board commercial vessels, as well as generate more awareness, Port State Control Officers in the Paris MoU region have carried out a Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006. A total of 3,674 questionnaires for the CIC have been completed during regular inspections over a period from September 1 to November 30, 2016. The campaign resulted in 42 detentions (1.1 percent) directly linked to the MLC, 2006 requirements.

Representatives of the Port State Control Committee, the governing body under the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU), convened last week in Putrajaya, for its 26th meeting. The authorities of Peru and Panama applied for full membership, and their applications were unanimously accepted, bringing the total number of Tokyo MOU member authorities to 21, plus a number of observers. The October 5-8 meeting was chaired by Abdul Samad Bin Shaik Osman…

With global focus on the mariner courtesy of MLC2006, reinforced by a number of high profile catastrophic maritime casualties that are directly linked to “the human factor,” preliminary results from the Paris MoU should be disturbing at the least. •    16 ships (14% of detentions during CIC) were detained over the 3 month period as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies related to hours of rest. Main areas of concern are hours of rest not being recorded properly and watch keeping personnel without sufficient rest.

Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on STCW Hours of Rest, carried out between September 1 and November 30, 2014 in the Paris MoU region show that 16 ships (14% of detentions during CIC) were detained over the three-month period as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies related to hours of rest. Main areas of concern are hours of rest not being recorded properly and watchkeeping personnel without sufficient rest. In recent years there has been a growing concern regarding hours of rest for watchkeeping personnel, Paris MoU said. Supported by PSC inspection results and a number of incidents, the Paris and Tokyo MoU, as well as other MoUs, decided to organize a joint campaign to verify a list of 10 selected items against the STCW requirements.

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) Committee met in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 19 - 23 May 2014. Among other matters, the report of the Harmonized Verification Programme (HAVEP) on passenger ships (objective to obtain a view of emergency preparedness on passenger ships) was discussed. The meeting was attended by all members, the European Commission, EMSA, Montenegro, observers from the ILO, US Coast Guard, Black Sea MoU, Caribbean MoU, Mediterranean MoU, Tokyo MoU and Viña del Mar Agreement. Since the implementation of the new inspection regime on 1st of January, 2011, there is a clear indication that it is showing positive results.

Preliminary results from the Harmonized Verification Program (HAVEP) on passenger ships, carried out between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 in the Paris MoU region show that two passenger ships were detained over the 12 month period as a direct result of the HAVEP for deficiencies related to operation control and emergency preparedness. While the results of the HAVEP indicate reasonable overall compliance with SOLAS requirements for passenger ships, both from an operational point of view and hardware, it should be noted that in 19 out of 232 inspections (8.19%) a deficiency was recorded against a fire drill and in 20 inspections (8.62%) a deficiency was recorded against an abandon ship drill.

-    Two passenger ships were detained over the 12 month period as a direct result of the HAVEP for deficiencies related to operation control and emergency preparedness. o     in 20 inspections (8.62%) a deficiency was recorded against an abandon ship drill. The objective of the HAVEP was to obtain a view of emergency preparedness on passenger ships following the Costa Concordia incident in January 2012. The two main areas of concern on a passenger ship are fire and flooding and if the situation escalates out of control the ship must be able to be safely abandoned. The results of the HAVEP indicate that masters and operators must pay attention to carrying out regular realistic fire and abandon ship drills…

68 ships (41% of all detentions) were detained over the 3 month period as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies related to propulsion and auxiliary machinery. Problem areas included the propulsion of the main engine, cleanliness of the engine room and emergency source of power/emergency generator. In previous years deficiencies related to propulsion and machinery installations accounted on average for 7% of the total number of deficiencies within the Tokyo and Paris MoU´s, ranking number six in comparison with all the deficiencies by categories statistics.

The Paris MoU Port State Control Committee's Harmonized Verification Programme (HAVEP) on passenger ship operational safety controls will last throughout 2013. Steamship Mutual advises its members to prepare for Port State Control Inspections, pointing out that passenger ferries and passenger high-speed craft are excluded from the HAVEP. During the HAVEP, Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will witness an operational control comprising a standard emergency scenario which will include a simulated machinery/other space fire, a passenger evacuation leading to muster drill and an abandon ship drill, which will include lowering of lifeboats to the water and being taken away under power.

Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety Systems, underline fire safety concerns. The results are based on the CIC survey carried out between 1 September 2012 and 30 November 2012 in the Paris MoU region. 103 ships were detained over the 3 month period as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies related to Fire Safety Systems. 64% of all ships detained in the three month period were detained for fire safety related issues. Problem areas included fire pumps and its pipes, fire fighting equipment and appliances, and the fire control plan.

The Paris MOU on Port State Control will start strict enforcement of the ISM Code on 1 July during a 3-month Concentrated Inspection Campaign. Last month the Port State Control Committee of the Paris MOU agreed to verify compliance with the ISM on all ships due for an inspection in one of the ports within the region. No extensions will be granted to the ship types which become compliant on July 1, 2002. Other ship types which already have been certified in accordance with the ISM Code will also be subject to the inspection campaign to verify that the safety management system (SMS) is actually working on board.Port State Control officers in the MOU countries will be using a standard inspection form to verify critical areas of the management system.

After nearly 20 years of operation the Paris MOU has set its course for the years ahead. Determined targeting of substandard ships, greater transparency to the outside world and a higher level of harmonization and quality are goals for the future. At the same time ship owners, flag States, classification societies and charterers will be held accountable for their performance and involvement with sub-standard ships. While on the other hand, companies, ships and flags with a good safety record will be rewarded for investing in quality shipping. The overall figures for 2001 are very similar to those of 2000. The total numbers of inspections…