Port State Control News

Containership Lowlands Kamsar has been detained by U.S. Coast Guard personnel in Seattle, Monday, after a Port State Control exam detected several safety violations. The Lowlands Kamsar a 751-foot, Panamanian-flagged ship will remain in Sector Puget Sound's Captain of the Port zone until the violations are corrected, the Coast Guard said. During the exam Coast Guard Port State Control officers discovered that the automatic fire extinguishing system that protects the vessel’s engine room had been disabled by the crew, additionally, the vessel’s owner, Misuga S.A., failed to ensure that appropriate corrective action was taken. The crew of the ship was conducting cargo operations in Seattle at the time of the exam. Lt.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it detained the 579-foot motor vessel  Strategic Synergy, Tuesday, requiring the vessel to remain in Portland until numerous safety violations are corrected by the ship’s crew. The Strategic Synergy, owned by SBC Synergy PTE. LTD., intends to load grain in Portland and will depart for Ecuador after the safety violations have been met. Port State Control Officers from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Portland discovered the discrepancies during a routine inspection of the newly constructed Singapore-flagged vessel. Strategic Synergy’s voyage to the United States was its maiden voyage after completing construction in China on April 23, 2014.

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.

The Commission decided to bring an action in the Court of Justice against France and Ireland for their failure to enforce legislation on the State control of vessels in their ports. Directive 95/21/EC on port State control aims in fact to reduce the number of substandard ships in Community waters and lays down that at least 25 percent of the number of ships entering the ports of a Member State should be inspected. The Commission is asking the Court of Justice to declare that, in not observing this annual threshold of 25 percent of ships inspected by the port State, as provided for in the Community legislation, Ireland and France have infringed European maritime safety rules.

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.

Port State Control officers from U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound detained the container ship MOL Precision in Seattle, Thursday after discovering several significant violations during a port state control exam of the Panamanian-flagged ship, which will remain in Sector Puget Sound's Captain of the Port zone until the violations are corrected. The coast guard said violations included defective oil bilge line filtering equipment, missing security training records and not sending required ballast tank information to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse prior to entering a U.S. port. The 962-foot containership MOL Precision’s oil bilge line filtering equipment had a nonfunctional alarm and intermittently operating meter…

​Practical training on board ships for port State control officers, supported by class-based lectures, has boosted knowledge amongst participants from eight countries during a training course in Muscat and Sohar, Oman (19 February -2 March). The course was hosted by the Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Gulf Region (Riyadh MoU) and  jointly organized by International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Tokyo MoU, the Riyadh MoU and the Ministry of Transport of Oman.

Safebridge, a provider of web-based e-learning products for the maritime industry, providing online, onboard and classroom training for nautical officers and captains, hosted the Port State Control of Germany in January 2016 offering a customized Basic ECDIS Training for the inspection officers of the BG Verkehr, the Authority responsible for conducting Port State inspections on vessels hailing German ports. The training covered the legal, technical and operational requirements for the carriage of ECDIS as primary means of navigation.

New mobile-friendly, interactive format makes it easy to define and address Port State Control compliance concerns to reduce detentions. (Houston)  ABS, a leading provider of classification and technical services to the global marine and offshore industries, has released an enhanced version of its Guidance for Reducing Port State Control Detention. The new Guidance provides the most updated information for maintaining compliance with current Port State Control laws in a mobile-friendly and interactive format.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has stressed the vital importance of collaborative efforts to leave ‘no hiding place’ for substandard shipping. Lim was addressing the third Joint Ministerial Conference of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control in Vancouver, Canada (May 3-4). Port State Control is the mechanism that enables officials from a port state to board and inspect foreign-flag ships to ensure they comply with the necessary safety and environmental regulations.

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard. CLICK PICTURE to go to the 27-page Report) The U.S. Coast Guard released its report on Port State Control in the United States. In addition to its usual analysis of boardings of foreign vessels calling in U.S. ports, this year’s report introduces the application of marine security principles into the port state control regime. Owners, operators, flag administrations, and recognized security organizations should take heed. (HK Law).

The Coast Guard detained the motor vessel Great Success, Tuesday,  requiring the vessel remain in Longview, Wash., until numerous safety violations are corrected by the ship’s crew. Port State Control officers from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River’s Marine Safety Unit in Portland, Ore., discovered the discrepancies during routine inspections of the 553-foot Hong Kong-flagged vessel in Kalama, Wash., Monday and Longview on Tuesday. Most safety discrepancies were related to fire danger and included excessive oil and oily water mixture in the bilges…

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The European Commission sent reasoned opinions – the last step before lodging a case to the Court of Justice – to Italy and Malta for failure to respect EU legislation on port State control of shipping. Latvia was also sent a reasoned opinion for failure to transpose into national law EU legislation on maritime safety and the prevention of pollution by ships. “While the European Commission has just adopted a third set of measures to reinforce maritime safety, I am deeply concerned that some countries still have not implemented properly legislation on Port State control that dates back to 2002”, said Vice-President Jacques Barrot in charge of transport.

inspections in ports to be undertaken more efficiently and effectively. related ship inspections have become more and more complex. different rules that apply to a selected ship at the time of an inspection. Shipping (KRS). Executive Director Willem de Ruiter. are applied properly in carrying out their work. more efficient and effective way in the future. Conventions have been getting more and more complex over time. varying dates of implementation and; they often do not apply to all ship types. complicated in the future. improve the situation. EU and surrounding countries) agreed on the need for a simplified system. provide a link to the instruction issued by the Paris MOU. the whole port state control regime. relating to port state control. deliver the RuleCheck system. possible.

The 43 Maritime Authorities of the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) with the purpose to ensure compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2/ Construction - fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction arrangements on board ships. This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from 1 September 2012 and ending on 30 November 2012. In practice, the CIC will mean that during a regular port State control inspection conducted under the regional ship selection criteria within the Paris and Tokyo MoU regions, the fire safety arrangements, maintenance records and other applicable documentation will be verified in more detail for compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2.

The 43 maritime authorities of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on port state control will launch a joint concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) to verify compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2/ Construction – fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction arrangements on board ships. The CIC will last for three months, starting on 1 September, 2012, and ending on November 30, 2012. In practice, the CIC will mean that during a regular port state control inspection conducted under the regional ship selection criteria within the Paris and Tokyo MOU regions, the fire safety arrangements, maintenance records and other applicable documentation will be verified in detail for compliance with SOLAS Chapter II-2.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that 11 foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during February 2009 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. Latest monthly figures show that there were seven new detentions of foreign flagged ships in UK ports during February 2009 and four vessels under detention from previous months. The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last twelve months was four percent, slightly up from Januarys' twelve month rate. During the month of February 122 Port State Control inspections were carried out in the UK. A total of 32 vessels had no deficiencies raised against them…

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…

Eight foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during November 2014 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. During November, there were 6 new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port. 2 vessels remained under detention from previous months and 5 vessels were released during November. A total of 3 vessels remain under detention at the end of November. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s Inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended)…

The European Union (EU) is funding a €1.2 million grant contract, signed between IMO and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) to support training and capacity-building activities aimed at enhancing flag State implementation and port State control in Western and Central Africa, with a view to upgrading the region’s maritime administrations and preparing its States for the mandatory IMO audit scheme. IMO will be executing the two-year program, identifying the individual countries’ needs in terms of enhancing their capacity to carry out their flag State responsibilities. There will also be a focus on port State control…

The two major port State control regimes - Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU - will increase focus on the sulphur limit regulations. The decision has been made on the basis of a Danish/Dutch proposal. Port State control authorities across 45 countries and 5 continents – South America, North America, Europe, Asia and Australia – have agreed to carry out a so-called Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) in 2018 focusing on air pollution from ships. Peter Krog-Meyer, Senior Adviser of the Danish Maritime Authority informed, ”We have achieved two important results.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel on Monday detained the oil tanker Overseas Jademar in Port Angeles after several safety violations were discovered during a port state control exam. Marshall Island-flagged tanker Overseas Jademar was en route from Malaysia to Anacortes, Washington to offload cargo when Port State Control officers from Sector Puget Sound found several significant safety violations during a port state control exam. The ship will remain detained in Sector Puget Sound's Captain of the Port zone until the safety violations are corrected. The deficiencies found onboard included nonfunctioning distress signaling equipment and fire safety systems.