Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued its Annual Port State Control (PSC) report for 2024, revealing deficiencies related to the International Safety Management (ISM) category were the most prevalent.
According to the AMSA, there was a 19.1% decrease in the number of initial PSC inspections, with 2,264 conducted in 2024 compared to 2,797 in 2023. The detention rate for PSC inspections also decreased slightly in 2024, at 5.9% compared to 6.3% in 2023. This 2024 rate was consistent with the 10-year rolling average of 5.8%.
Port State Control
The number of deficiencies per PSC inspection remained stable in 2024, with a rate of 2.63 compared to 2.68 in 2023. However, this remains higher than the 10-year rolling average of 2.26 deficiencies per inspection.
Inspection Summary: 2023 vs 2024
| Category | Measure | 2023 | 2024 | When compared to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrivals | Total arrivals | 28,763 | 28,650 | -0.39% (a decrease of 113) |
| Individual ships which made those arrivals | 6,226 | 6,061 | -2.65% (a decrease of 165) | |
| Ships eligible for PSC inspection | 6,066 | 5,884 | -3.00% (a decrease of 182) | |
| PSC Inspections | Total PSC inspections | 2,797 | 2,264 | -19.06% (a decrease of 533) |
| Total PSC inspections – by individual ships | 2,477 | 2,002 | -19.18% (a decrease of 475) | |
| Inspection rate of eligible ships % | 40.8% | 34% | -16.67% (a decrease of 6.8%) | |
| Deficiencies | Total deficiencies | 7,491 | 5,960 | -20.44% (a decrease of 1,531) |
| Total detainable deficiencies | 263 | 185 | -29.66% (a decrease of 78) | |
| Rate of deficiencies per inspection | 2.68 | 2.63 | -1.87% (a decrease of 0.05) | |
| Detentions | Total detentions | 176 | 133 | -24.43% (a decrease of 43) |
| Detentions as a % of total inspections | 6.3% | 5.9% | -6.35% (a decrease of 0.4%) |
PSC Detainable Deficiencies
According to the data, deficiencies related to the ISM category were the most prevalent, slightly increasing from 27.0% in 2023 to 27.57% in 2024. Fire safety maintained its position as the category with the second-highest share of detainable deficiencies at 15.14%. The share of detainable deficiencies for water/weathertight conditions and lifesaving appliances remained stable at 12.97% and 11.35%, respectively.
Notably, the proportion of detainable deficiencies under MARPOL Annex I nearly doubled, rising from 4.9% in 2023 to 8.11% in 2024.
Detainable Deficiencies by Deficiency Type
| Deficiency Type | 2023 Deficiency Count | 2023 Deficiency Share | 2024 Deficiency Count | 2024 Deficiency Share | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISM | 71 | 27.0% | 51 | 27.57% | ↑ |
| Fire safety | 40 | 15.2% | 28 | 15.14% | ↓ |
| Water/weather-tight conditions | 33 | 12.6% | 24 | 12.97% | ↑ |
| Lifesaving appliances | 25 | 9.5% | 21 | 11.35% | ↑ |
| Pollution prevention – Annex I | 13 | 4.9% | 15 | 8.11% | ↑ |
| Emergency systems | 30 | 11.4% | 14 | 7.57% | ↓ |
| Labour conditions | 11 | 4.2% | 10 | 5.41% | ↑ |
| Certificates and documentation | 5 | 1.9% | 8 | 4.32% | ↑ |
| Other | 6 | 2.3% | 5 | 2.70% | ↑ |
| Radio communications | 3 | 1.1% | 3 | 1.62% | ↑ |
| Alarms | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 1.08% | ↑ |
| Structural conditions | 7 | 2.7% | 0 | 0.00% | ↓ |
| Propulsion and auxiliary machinery | 5 | 1.9% | 2 | 1.08% | ↓ |
| Pollution prevention – Annex IV | 10 | 3.8% | 2 | 1.08% | ↓ |
| Safety of navigation | 2 | 0.8% | 0 | 0.00% | ↓ |
| Cargo operations including equipment | 2 | 0.8% | 0 | 0.00% | ↓ |
Top five detention rates by ship type
In 2024, AMSA detained a total of 133 ships, resulting in an average detention rate of 5.9%, slightly down from 6.3% in 2023.
- In 2024, tug boats topped the list with the same rate of 16.7% (3 detentions).
- Offshore service vessels ranked second in both years, with a detention rate of 12.5%, 2 detentions in 2023 and 3 in 2024.
- General cargo/multi-purpose ships saw a decrease from 11.6% (30 detentions) in 2023 to 8.3% (6 detentions) in 2024, placing them third in both years.
- Chemical tankers, which were fourth in 2023 with an 8.1% detention rate (5 detentions), were replaced by bulk carriers in 2024, which had a 6.8% detention rate from 83 detentions.
- Gas carriers rounded out the top five in both years, with their detention rate dropping from 7.5% (3 detentions) in 2023 to 5.3% (3 detentions) in 2024.
