Tag: ship inspections

The Japan P&I Club has been informed of problems regarding ballast water inspections by the ecological inspectors in Ukraine, drawing attention to the current local legislation which does not have an approved Procedure and Order of calculation of damages caused by pollution from maritime vessels.

A broad range of industries has been showing increased interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - or mostly known, drones- in last years, mainly due to the relaxation of stringent regulations around their use. The total addressable market for drone powered business operations is valued at over $127 bn, according to PwC estimates.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines released a circular regarding Port State Control Inspections with deficiencies which do not warrant detention, saying that ships or companies which do not comply with this circular will be subject to fines and the vessels may be deleted at short notice.

In a response to ongoing outbreaks of yellow fever in Nigeria and Brazil, China has strengthened its quarantine inspection requirements to prevent the virus being carried to China by seagoing vessels. Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne disease with the potential to cause severe health implications.

The Caspian littoral states have decided to adopt a unified mode for PSC inspections in ports in the region, equivalent to this of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, according to an official statement by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Investment and Development.

The introduction of autonomous drones will revolutionize ship inspection regime in the near future, opening up new possibilities, according to Cezary Galinski, Senior Principal Surveyor and Head of the DNV GL drone squad. Having adapted its survey technology to various ship structures, DNV GL conducted its first offshore drone survey, in July 2017.

At the 20th meeting of the PSC Committee in Maldives, in August, the Committee finalised the criteria for implementation of New Inspection Regime for the Indian Ocean MoU, for providing a more risk based system for identifying and targeting non-complaint ships for inspections from 1st January 2018.

In a bid to respond to the industry-wide trend to use more unmanned technology, the Korean Register launches inspection services using drones, after collaboration and research conducted with the University of Gyeongnam Geochang. The drone inspection is expected to save time and money and will enhance workforce safety.

China's Hainan Maritime Safety Agency issued a Notice to Implement Ship Pollution Control Plan, that details actions to be taken between 3 November 2017 - 3 December 2018, to control of emission of ship’s pollutants and ballast water discharge. During this period, inspections will be carried out on ships, fuel suppliers and units that receive ships’ pollutants.

Standard Club has recently noticed incidents of corruption regarding the practice of mandatory underwater hull inspections in Venezuelan ports, which are conducted by diving companies appointed by the terminal and suggests measures for their prevention.