Abuja MoU, a coalition of west and central African states on Port State Control (PSC), issued its annual report for 2016, presenting the result of PSC inspections conducted by the 15 member States in the region. The 2016 marked the beginning of the second phase of the consolidation of progress achieved in line with the Plan of Action for Abuja MoU.
Mrs Mfon Ekong Usoro, Secretary General, Abuja MoU, commented on the PSC performance of the region during 2016:
”Overall, statistics from 2013 to 2016 show an increase in the number of detentions and deficiencies per inspection. This demonstrates the increased confidence of port State inspectors arising from the trainings offered by the IMO and other regional MoUs. The numbers of SOLAS related deficiencies witnessed a spike in 2016, an indication that a stronger signal needs to be sent to operators of substandard ships through more stringent inspections and action taken measures.”
18 member States of Abuja MoU were beneficiaries of the EU/ACP support to the Maritime Transport Sector in Africa Project 2014 – 2016. The objectives of the Project included: harmonization of maritime safety regulations at the regional and national level; improvement of maritime safety through technical assistance and training provided at regional and national level; upgrading maritime data in ports and regional exchange of data; increasing port efficiency at cargo handling terminals; and achievement of Africa’s economic growth, connectivity and the promotion of regional integration.
In the year under review, 1,922 inspections were conducted by the member States.
- 24 vessels were detained for PSC detainable deficiencies during the year, a 167% increase in the number of detention above 2015 figures of 9.
- The detention percentage per inspection of 1.25% in 2016 gives 0.87% increase above that of 2015 which was 0.38%.
- The region recorded 18.14% decrease in inspections from 2,348 in 2015.
- A total of 642 deficiencies were recorded and the total number of inspections with deficiencies was 153, both an increase over 2015 figures where 528 deficiencies and 143 inspections with deficiencies were recorded,
- The percentage of inspections with deficiencies rose from 6.09 in 2015 to 7.96 in 2016.
- 18 different ship types were inspected.
- The number of detentions increased from 9 in 2015 to 24 in 2016.
The 15 member states of the Abuja MoU are: Benin, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, South Africa and Togo.
Further information may be found in the following report:
