Port State Control Examinations News

Palau International Ship Registry (PISR) reports it has recorded a zero percentage detention record with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in the latest figures issued for 2016-2018 Port State Control examinations.The USCG targets flags for additional Port State Control examinations if their detention ratio scores are higher than the three-year rolling average detention record. In the latest figures, PISR recorded an  overall 0.00% detention record with zero detentions for safety playing a major part in this.In the two year period recorded…

On 24 January, the IMO issued updated guidelines on fatigue. This is just another in a long series of band aids that attempt to cover over the problem without providing a solution. Fatigue is a long-standing weakness in the maritime industry. It is recognized as a major or contributing causal factor in the majority of maritime casualties. As is well-known, fatigue is caused by a lack of sleep and relaxation. These, in turn, are the result of too few people being tasked with too much work. Guidance on how to recognize and manage fatigue is meaningless.

On December 22, 2018, a continuing resolution passed by Congress to fund a portion of the U.S. Government into the 2019 fiscal year expired and was not renewed resulting in a partial federal government shutdown. Among the affected Executive Departments are the Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection), the Department of Transportation (which includes the Maritime Administration), the Department of Interior (which includes the Bureau of Environment and Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM))…

Rear Admiral Paul Thomas is the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy overseeing three Coast Guard directorates: Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. The programs include waterways management, navigation and boating safety, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, commercial vessel inspections, and port state control. A longtime specialist in Marine Safety…

The UK P&I Club issue information for members whose vessels call at the remote Alaskan port on the Arctic Circle. Red Dog is a port established specifically to support the associated Lead and Zinc mine. It is a very remote location of Alaska and there are no services, including no provisions, repairs, freshwater or bunkers, available. Red Dog is situated in Lat. 67 34'42" North, Long. 164 03'30" West; Northeast of The Bering Strait near the small town of Kivalina, Alaska. As the ocean vessel loads outside the three statute mile limit…

Data show that more than 75 % of marine casualties are the result of human error. Fatigue is documented as the primary cause of 16% of maritime casualties and is a factor in an additional 37% of casualties. Experts suggest that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that fatigue is a factor in the vast majority of marine casualties caused by human error. Lack of rest has been the lot of seafarers at least since voyages beyond the sight of land became common. Until recently, little has been done formally to address the problem. Governments routinely issue minimum manning certificates for vessels that, while meeting the safe manning level requirements established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ignore the realities of life and work on a modern vessel at sea.

Reductions in Port State Control Examinations and streamlined inspection procedures are among the rewards that await the owners of non-U.S. registered commercial vessels that call on U.S. ports - if they measure up in a new quality incentive program established by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The program was announced today at a shipping conference in Athens, Greece, per Rear Admiral Robert North, assistant Coast Guard Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection. Dubbed Qualship 21, the incentive program, which is part of the USCG effort to eliminate substandard shipping and reward high-quality vessels, is also being considered for U.S. registered vessels.

The Liberian Registry has been admitted to the United States Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 quality incentive program– a distinction enjoyed by only ten percent of foreign-flagged ships calling at U.S. ports - as a result of its excellent port state control record. This recognition of Liberia’s commitment to quality shipping comes at a time of growth and expansion for the registry, which has grown by more than 500 vessels under the management of the U.S.-based Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR).Reductions in port state control examinations and streamlined inspection procedures are among the benefits available under the Qualship 21(Quality Shipping for the 21st Century) program to owners of non-U.S.-registered ships calling at U.S.