As of February 21st of 2018, in total 48 vessels are detained in the Paris MoU region; some of which are in this status since 2011, the authority notes. For example three general cargo vessels owned by a Ukraine stationed management Company have been detained in Ravenna since 2011.
An analysis of the detained vessels follows:
The detention list includes 45 vessels, from which 50% are general cargo vessels.
Various flag administrations are responsible flags of detained vessels.
The majority of vessels are flagged under Black or Grey listed flags of Paris MoU list but almost 38 % belong to white listed flags.
Greece, Spain and Netherlands are identified as the strictest Paris MoU PSC authorities for the inspections under review. These three authorities have a score of 53% of all cases.
Vessels are being detained due to PSCOs findings following inspections. The detainable deficiencies vary from port to port and between different authorities.
There are four inspection types that can be carried out by PSC Officers:
- Initial Inspection: A general inspection of vessels, focused on few aspects only. Documents and Certifications are inspected as well as the overall condition and hygiene of the ship to verify whether the ship meets the generally accepted international rules and standards.
- More Detailed Inspection: It takes place whenever there are clear grounds for believing that the condition of the ship, its equipment or its crew does not substantially meet the requirements of a relevant instrument. A more detailed inspection will include an in-depth examination in many areas, also taking into account he human elements covered by ILO, ISM and STCW and including operational controls as appropriate.
- Expanded Inspection: An expanded inspection shall include a check of the overall condition, including human element where relevant, in all risk areas and aspects of vessel. The inspector must use professional judgement to determine the appropriate depth of examination or testing of each specific item. Inspectors must be aware that the safe execution of certain on-board operations, e.g. cargo handling, could be jeopardized by tests carried out during such operation.
- Concentrated Inspection Campaign: It focuses on specific areas where high levels of deficiencies have been encountered by PSCOs, or where new convention requirements have recently entered into force. Campaings take place yearly over a period of 3 months (September – November) and are combined with a regular inspection
As always, statistical analysis can give a good picture of which areas (categories) are considered as the most common deficiencies. Throughout last 5 years (excluding 2017 which statistics are still in progress) the top 5 categories of detainable deficiencies in Paris MoU remain the same as below table:
Paris MoU inspections are based on the ‘’ship risk calculator’’; they calculate the ship risk profile of the ship using the calculated company performance and the list of RO’s meeting low risk criteria. It gives emphasis to the age factor, thus vessels with age more than 12 years are targeted.
It is recommended vessels’ managers to monitor statistics and managed vessels’ performance in order to avoid costly delays due to detentions while inspected by PSCOs.