Concerning marine safety and the importance of it, Vice President of the Passenger Vessel Association, Colleen Stephens, testified before the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee last month at a hearing, commenting against third-party organization inspections.
The Hong Kong Marine Department issued a shipping note to advise parties concerned on the 2019 Guidelines for PSC under MARPOL Annex VI Chapter 3 adopted at IMO’s 74th Session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74).
The 2020 sulphur cap will enter into force on 1st January 2020, meaning that a comprehensive approach to compliance is expected by all Port State Control (PSC) regimes. PSC inspections will be conducted according to the IMO PSC procedures, the 2019 guidelines for PSC under MARPOL Annex VI.
Many operators monitor specific KPIs, but these are not necessarily make the difference; it is not only the detention ratio, but country, port, age, and ship type that matter. Analyzing more than 33,500 inspections and related data from RISK4SEA – the online intelligence platform providing PSC inspection analytics & benchmarking – the global KPIs for the first semester of 2019 show 1.88 deficiencies per inspection, in comparison to the last running quarter which was 1.76. The detention rate is 2.46%, and the clean inspection rate is 52%.
MPA Singapore and Panama Maritime Authority inked a MoU to strengthen maritime relations on 19 September. The agreement is expected, among others, to facilitate vessels registered with either Panama or Singapore calling at each other’s ports with faster checks and clearances.
The Danish maritime Authority announced Denmark has maintained its status through the US Coast Guard’s QUALSHIP 21 program. The program recognizes and rewards vessels, as well as their owners and Flag Administrations, for their commitment to safety and quality.
China Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the issuance, use and acceptance of Electronic Certificates to facilitate port clearance and Port State control inspections.
The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) in collaboration with Dalhousie University issued a study focusing on the complexity of safety onboard given that it is difficult to follow a safety culture between the vessel and the management, affected from a variety of maritime factors as Flag Administrations, commercial pressures and the reluctance of addressing any safety problems.
MV Lita, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was detained for nine days due to the fact that Belgian Authorities that inspected the vessel discovered dozens of safety breaches and deficiencies against the crews’ working conditions.
During an inspection by the Marine Safety Detachment Port Canaveral Port State Control Officers, there were MARPOL deficiencies identified, related to the 15-ppm Bilge Alarm system of the Oily Water Separators (OWS) onboard four separate ships.
