The US Coast Guard launched its Domestic Vessel Annual Report, collecting data from the USCG’s Marine Information Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database regarding vessel population, inspections conducted, and deficiencies issued for the 2018 calendar year. The report presents information reflecting the entire U.S. Flag fleet, including barges, cargo vessels, passenger vessels, vessels operating on the Outer Continental Shelf, research and school ships, fishing vessels, and the newest members of the inspected fleet, towing vessels.
Of the 20,048 inspections conducted by MIs in 2018, 25,324 deficiencies were identified on the 19,679 active vessels in the U.S. fleet of responsibility. Passenger vessels account for 72.3% of those deficiencies. However, based on vessel population, Cargo vessels received a higher ratio of deficiencies per vessel, with an average of 4.17.
- Domestic Fleet Highlights
As presented above, inspections were conducted on 4.735 barges, 549 cargo, 6.389 passenger, 548 OCS, 55 research and school and 7.403 towing.
- Marine Casualties
There were 1,946 reportable marine casualty investigations in 2018 involving 1,812 vessels.
The above graph presents the number of reportable marine casualties for each vessel type and the percentage occurring among each compared to the total for all U.S. inspected vessels.
- Flag State Detentions
In 2018 there were 40 valid Flag State Detentions. A total of 43 Flag State Detentions were issued; however, upon administrative review, three detentions were downgraded. Action code “30 – Ship Detained” is a control action that may be imposed on any inspected vessel type, including Small Passenger Vessels and Barges, and is selected when technical or operational-related deficiencies exist that individually or collectively indicate a serious failure, or lack of effectiveness, of the implementation of the Safety Management System (SMS). For vessels that do not have an SMS, “30 – Ship Detained” is assigned when objective evidence indicates that a serious substandard condition is not being proactively managed by the company, vessel owner, and/or operator.
The Top 5 detention deficiencies were:
- Fire Safety
- Structural Conditions
- Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery
- Certificates and Documentation
- Firefighting Equipment
For more information on the report, you may click on the PDF herebelow
