Annual Report
AMSA 2014 Annual Report on PSC
2014 marked the introduction of a significant step-change in Australia’s response to ships and operators who perform poorly on a consistent basis. In November and December 2014 AMSA used the directions power provided in section 246 of the Navigation Act 2012 to ban 2 ships from entering or using Australian ports for a period of 3 months.
During the calendar year 2014, 26,936 ship arrivals by 5674 foreign-flagged ships of which 3742 vessel inspected and resulted in 269 ship detentions. Bulk carriers accounted for 49 per cent of ship arrivals and 57 per cent of PSC inspections. PSC inspections were carried out in 54 Australian ports.
There was a total of 269 vessels detained in 2014.The average detention rate for all vessels was 7.2%. During 2014, AMSA surveyors recorded a total of 10,892 deficiencies giving a deficiency rate of 2.9 per inspection compared to 2.4 per inspection in 2013.
By drawing comparisons based on 10 years of Australian PSC data the outcome may be considered, at first view, to be disappointing with the apparent stabilisation of annual PSC deficiency and detention rates over the last 5 years. While there have been modest improvements experienced across a number of areas, the overall picture indicates that the international community’s PSC/ FSC efforts are not delivering lasting results. The principal causes of detention remain consistently related to International Safety Management (ISM), fire safety, lifesaving appliances and pollution prevention. It seems difficult to reconcile how well established requirements for fire safety, lifesaving appliances and pollution prevention continue to be such significant issues.
Source: AMSA
Adjusting the Course: Paris MOU 2014 Annual Report
Paris MOU issued a press release on the 2014 Annual Report and is significant to read that refusal of access (banning) has been used 63 times since 2012. Most cases involved ships which have been banned for multiple detentions (46), while a significant number (13) were banned for failing to call at an indicated repair yard. The remaining 4 cases involved ships which “jumped the detention”, by sailing without authorization. Over a 3 year period the flags of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Moldova, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Togo have recorded the highest number of bannings. Four ships have been banned for a second time already. The m/v MANSOUR M (Moldova), m/v CAROLYN (Tanzania), m/v MAXAL GITA (Belize) and m/v RENI (Ukraine).
Considered to be the worldwide index for flag performance, the Paris MoU “White, Grey and Black Lists” indicate further improvements towards quality shipping.
Last year Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland were congratulated for their efforts to move up to the “White List”. This year India moved from the “Grey List” to the “White List”. A very successful achievement and an example to other flags that, through determined actions and political courage, changes can be made. Spain, Lithuania, Poland and Thailand moved from the “White List” to the “Grey List”. Belize moved from the “Grey List” to the “Black List”. There are still 10 flags on the “Black List”, with the United Republic of Tanzania having the worst performance. There are now 43 flags on the “White List”, 3 less compared with last year. France is still leading the list, followed by Hong Kong and Bahamas. Several flags have
made a significant move upwards on the “White List” into the top 10: Bahamas, Isle of Man and the United States of America. Other flags have made a significant move downwards in the “White List” and are no longer in the top 10: Germany and Finland.
Recognized Organizations (ROs) are delegated by flag States to carry out statutory surveys on behalf of flags. For this very reason, it is important to monitor their performance. The best performing RO over the period 2012-2014 was DNV GL, followed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). INCLAMAR is still at the bottom of the list in terms of poor performance, followed by International Register of Shipping and Bulgarian Register of Shipping. For several years a joint submission with the Tokyo MoU to IMO has addressed the correlation between flags and ROs working on their behalf. Since last year this information has been published in the Annual Report. The combinations of the Republic of Moldova with Dromon Bureau of Shipping and Venezuelan Register of Shipping, as well as Togo with International Naval Surveys Bureau and International Naval Surveys Bureau resulted each in a detention rate higher than 5% over a 3-year rolling period.
CLICK HERE for full 2014 Annual Report.
Source: Paris MOU
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