How does port state control identify likely substandard ships

The Ultimate Guide to Port State Control (PSC) Inspection on Ships

All ships sailing in international waters are required to comply with the international codes and conventions put forth by the maritime authorities. For this, ships should be maintained at a particular standard by the combined efforts of flat states, shipping company, and ship’s master.

In order to ensure that the condition of foreign ships is well above the excepted level, inspections are done on the ships when they visit international ports. This inspection of foreign ships is known as port state control (PSC).

The regulation of port state control was brought in by the formation of Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which also put forth the general criteria for inspection procedures of all types of ships.

Know more about the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the 8 PSC regimes in operation worldwide

Paris memorandum of understanding (MOU) laid down few general rules for the inspection of foreign vessels. They are as follows:

A ship is allowed to leave a port only on condition that the deficiencies found will be rectified before the departure or at the next port or within 14 days.

What all things are checked during port state control (PSC) inspection?

A port state control inspection involves checking of several aspects of the ship in both deck and engine departments of the ship.

The survey involves checking of important shipping documents, technical details, and structural elements of the ship.

Documents that are checked during port state control (PSC)

Important things that can be checked in the engine room during a port state control (PSC)

A ship is detained mainly when she is found to be dangerously unsafe to the safety of the ship, its crew and to marine environment. She can also be detained when the condition and standard of the ship is in complete contravention with the regulations put forth by the IMO and other maritime authorities.

The data collected from port state inspections of all the ships is stored in an information system called the “Equasis.

Find out more about Equasis here.

After the inspection, it is the duty of the master to report to the company regarding the outcome of the inspection.

Port State Control

Port State Control (PSC) is the inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with these rules.

Many of IMO’s most important technical conventions contain provisions for ships to be inspected when they visit foreign ports to ensure that they meet IMO requirements.

These inspections were originally intended to be a back up to flag State implementation, but experience has shown that they can be extremely effective. The Organization adopted resolution A.682(17) on Regional co-operation in the control of ships and discharges promoting the conclusion of regional agreements. A ship going to a port in one country will normally visit other countries in the region and it can, therefore, be more efficient if inspections can be closely coordinated in order to focus on substandard ships and to avoid multiple inspections.

IMO hosted six Workshops for PSC MoU/Agreement Secretaries and Database Managers. The Workshops were funded by the IMO Technical Cooperation Fund and aimed to provide support to regional port State control regimes by establishing a platform for cooperation and also providing a forum for the people involved to meet and exchange ideas and experiences. They also aimed to encourage harmonization and coordination of PSC activities and the development of practical recommendations which can be forwarded to IMO for further examination by the Organization’s relevant Committees and Sub-Committees.

The reports of the six past workshops are available on IMODOCS under «meeting documents/others/PSCWS».

What are objectives of PSC or Port State Control inspection?

The objective of PSC is to detect and discourage owners from operating substandard ships that endanger not only the ships crew and the port, but also the environment PSC (Port State Control) inspection helps to minimize the threat to life, properly and the environment by disallowing substandard shipping.

The fundamental aim of the PSC is to supplement the inspections by the flag state and eliminate sub–standard ships in order to ensure safer ships and cleaner oceans it includes boarding, inspection, remedial action and possible detention under the applicable conventions.
Port state control can be applied not only to those countries, who are party to the convention but also to the ships that fly the flag of a state that has not rectified a convention.
Thus no ships are exempted from inspection because the principle of no more favorable treatment applies. Any state may also in act its own domestic laws and impose additional nation al rules and regulations on foreign ships entering its water.

Key elements of PSC inspection are:-

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Port state control:

India, Cyprus and Turkey were removed from the US Coast Guard’s Targeted Flag List in 2019, recognising their consistent performance on maritime safety. Chris Lo asks: how does the global port state control system work, and how can vessels and flag states be added to (or removed from) lists that target them for more frequent inspections?

the United States Coast Guard (USCG) published its latest annual report on its port state control (PSC) activities, cataloguing the key statistics around its vessel inspection activities for 2019. The report noted that the coast guard carried out 8,622 safety inspections and 8,619 security inspections on docked ships in 2019, from a total of 83,231 port calls across the US.

The agency recorded a slightly decreased number of vessel detentions as a result of these inspections, with 96 detentions for safety or environmental deficiencies (down from 103 in 2018) and seven ships detained for security failures (down from eight in the previous year).

The report also provided an update on USCG’s Targeted Flag List, the list of flag administrations that are associated with a higher rate of vessel detentions, and thus targeted for more frequent inspections of vessels operating under that flag state. In the last year, the flag administrations of Cyprus, Turkey and India have been removed from the list, a recognition of the improved standard of shipping originating in those countries over the last three years.

But what exactly does PSC look like on a global level? And for that matter, how do targeted flag lists work, and under what conditions do flag administrations enter or leave these lists? Below is an explainer looking into the fundamentals of PSC around the world.

Click on the Bow of the ships to continue

Tap on the ships to continue

Port state control

Global PSC measures

Targeted flag lists

What is port state control?

Port state control (PSC) describes the network of systems governing countries’ inspection of foreign-flagged vessels that call at their ports. These inspections are intended to ensure that foreign ships are compliant with international regulations related to safety, security and environmental responsibility. The systems set up for PSC not only provide a safety net to back up flag state inspection work, but also set a framework for regional cooperation to improve compliance and avoid unnecessary inspections.

“The primary responsibility for ships’ standards rests with the flag state – but port state control provides a ‘safety net’ to catch substandard ships,” notes the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in its own guidance. “A ship going to a port in one country will normally visit other countries in the region and it can, therefore, be more efficient if inspections can be closely coordinated in order to focus on substandard ships and to avoid multiple inspections.”

Which maritime regulations are enforced by port states?

Broadly speaking, inspections by port state control officers (PCSOs) check compliance with the four main pillars of international maritime law. These are SOLAS, which sets standards for the safety of merchant ship construction, equipment and operation; MARPOL, which aims to minimise marine pollution; the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), which governs labour requirements for seafarers and employers; and the STCW Convention, which sets qualifications and standards for masters, officers and watch personnel.

The container terminal in Shanghai, China.

How is PSC organised globally?

Global PSC has evolved into a patchwork of regional memorandums of understanding (MoUs), which each cover a different region. The Paris MoU on Port State Control was the first such regional group, covering Europe and the North Atlantic.

There are eight other regional MoUs establishing PSC: the Tokyo MoU (Asia and the Pacific), the Indian Ocean MoU, the Black Sea MoU, the Mediterranean MoU, Acuerdo de Viña del Mar (South and Central American waters), the Caribbean MoU, the Abuja MoU (West and Central Africa) and the Riyadh MoU (Persian Gulf).

In cases where countries span multiple regions, it’s common to be signed up to multiple port state control MoUs. For example, Canada is a signatory of both the Paris and Tokyo MoUs, while Russia has signed up to the Paris, Tokyo and Black Sea MoUs. The US is not a signatory of any regional MoUs, and the USCG’s PSC regime is effectively a tenth pillar covering America’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Canada is a signatory of both the Paris and Tokyo MoUs.

What are common issues for vessel detention?

A wide range of safety, security and environmental deficiencies may necessitate a vessel detention under PSC systems. Looking at USCG’s latest PSC report, 83 safety management system deficiencies were identified in 2019, the largest proportion of which (29%) were related to maintenance of ship and equipment. Fire safety was the source of 74 deficiencies, with more than a quarter attributed to oil accumulation in engine rooms.

Environmental infractions under MARPOL Annex I were behind 60 deficiencies; non-compliant oil filtering equipment was the cause of nearly a third of these. In terms of rarer security infractions, USCG identified access control and ship security plans as the most common problems prompting major control actions last year.

A smuggling ship is detained at port in Zakynthos, Greece. Image: Zubkov Igor / Shutterstock.com

What enforcement measures are available for non-compliant ships?

Detention of ships is within the power of PSCOs, but isn’t the first enforcement step. Minor infractions may be required to be addressed within 14 days or, in certain scenarios, rectified when the vessel reaches its next port of call.

In more serious cases, problems must be rectified before the ship can leave the port, and detention is a final option if none of the aforementioned steps are sufficient. Outside of vessel detention, port states can also levy fines on the operators of non-compliant vessels.

What are targeted flag lists?

Targeted flag lists exist within regional PSC regimes to identify flag administrations with higher-than-average rates of vessel detention after inspections in port. The lists help inspection agencies target vessels flying listed flags for more frequent checks. The organisation of these lists, as well as the flag states that are included on them, varies between regional regimes, but they predominantly use inspection and detention data on a rolling three-year basis.

The port of Hamburg, Germany. Image: foto-select / Shutterstock.com

How are flag administrations added to or removed from targeted lists?

The Paris MoU, for example, has a white/grey/black list system, with the white list made up of flag states with a consistently low detention record, while the grey list is for average performers and the black list represents higher-risk flags that are more likely to be targeted for inspection.

Under the Paris MoU, risk is calculated using binomial calculus taking inspection results from the last three years. As such, it’s common for flag states to move up or down these lists based on the latest data; last year, Lithuania and Russia were bumped up to the white list, while Saudi Arabia was dropped down to the grey list and Albania moved from the grey list to the black list.

The USCG runs with a non-colour coded targeted flag list, again based on three-year detention rates; flag administrations with higher-than-average vessel detention ratio (the overall three-year detention ratio in 2019 was 1.08%) and associated with more than one detention in the last three years are placed on the targeted list. In the latest PSC report, USCG noted that India, Turkey and Cyprus were removed from its targeted list, while Israel (detention ratio of 15.79%) and Belgium (2.82%) were added for the first time.

Like the Paris MoU’s white list, the USCG also runs programmes intended to reward consistently high-performing vessels and flag administrations. The Qualship21 programme measures individual vessels and flag states against strict safety and security criteria, with qualifying entities receiving extra certification and less frequent PSC inspections.

At the end of 2019, 2,936 ships and 25 flag states had qualified for the certification, while only 51 ships met the criteria for the agency’s E-Zero programme, an equivalent scheme for “exemplary vessels that have consistently adhered to environmental compliance, while also demonstrating an immense commitment to environmental stewardship”.

Port State Control and Flag State Control

Table of Contents

Introduction

Written Laws gives jurisdiction of a sovereign state to control. More specifically, sovereign states ratify international laws to give jurisdiction to people of the state to control.

There are Territorial jurisdictions, which gives power to a state to exercise control over a geographical area, and also territorial seas that extends 12 nautical miles out from its coastlines.

There are National jurisdictions, which gives power to a state to exercise control over a subject which is not within its geographical area.

Then all that is left, is the international waters, or the “free seas”. Who has jurisdiction over that?

In fact, the international waters are where shipping vessels voyage across continents. There has to be some jurisdiction a state has over those vessels.

And that since the state has jurisdiction over a vessel in international waters, how does one exercise its control while vessels are in the high seas.

We briefly touched about this topic in our post of the unintended consequences of the IMO 2020 and we think that this warrants a deeper understanding.

In summary, a flag state has primary jurisdiction over the vessel, whereas once the vessel has reached a port, port state control has jurisdiction over the vessel and everything and everyone on it, including the vessel itself are privy to the port state control jurisdiction.

What is a Flag State Control?

Similar to any individual, a vessel needs a nationality to identify with, only once that the nationality has been identified can there be regulation over that individual.

Unlike any individual at birth, a vessel actually has the option to choose which state it registers with.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of registration to contend with: –

It is no wonder that there is an increasing trend in vessels registering in a flag of convenience, Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, St Vincent & Grenadines are tax havens with their capped tax and employment requirements.

With the ever-increasing pressure to satisfy hungry shareholders to post profits year after year. Shipowners shave off any cost imaginable, which culminates in the trend of shipowners “flagging out” to select a flag of convenience.

However, there are many reasons NOT to opt for an open register. After all, if the conditions of having an open register vessel are enticing, why would people need national and international registration?

Reasons for not flagging out may be attributed to the type of vessels, the shipping routes, and the reputation of keep vessels with national registers.

Dual Registration

Again, similar to citizenship where some nation permits dual citizenship like the United Kingdom, a ship can be registered under two flag states.

As an example, the owner may be required to register the ship under his domestic flag, but this flag is not accepted by the financing bank. Hence for mortgage purposes, the ship is registered under a secondary jurisdiction.

This has given prominence to the practice of setting up a management company or a holding company in a nation where the laws are beneficial to the company while registering the vessels under its management with nations with favorable crewing policy and vessel route access.

What is a Port State Control?

The flag state can not physically monitor all vessels under the state’s registration across the globe. It needs the assistance of a Port State Control.

In theory, the Flag State and Port State have the exact same governing jurisdiction in terms of vessel operations only. Other flag state regulations such as company tax and crew nationality does not feature in Port State Control’s jurisdiction.

With that being said, the Port State’s primary concern is to safeguard against substandard, or in extreme cases, unseaworthy ships from wreaking havoc on the environment and human safety.

If the International Conventions are the brains, the Port State is the extension of the brain, the hand of International Conventions if you will.

Port State Control is then a body with jurisdictional power under international law to practice its authority over persons and property.

Port State Controls are empowered by countries that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

For example, the Tokyo MOU has Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Hong Kong (China) as participating nations.

Should the Port State Control find any contradiction of the Convention of the IMO, they are responsible to report to the Flag State of any alleged violations.

In other words, The Port State Control body has jurisdiction to detect violations of the Convention, but are restrictions over determining the penalty and offense imposed on the violation.

Inspection

Port State Control officers are able to visit on board a ship to inspect the certificates and documents ONLY when there are clear grounds to believe that the conditions of the said ship are subpar. There are inspection procedures that officers have to adhere to, and ultimately, it is up to the judgment of the officer to determine if there are any violations.

Detention

Port State Control officers are able to detain a vessel at international ports upon reasonable grounds, a detention order can be issued if: –

What happens after Port State Control Officer detain vessels

There are two guiding principles that compel Port State Control Officers to detain the vessel. First, there must be a severe lack of documentary proof of vessel seaworthiness. Second, most importantly, detaining the ship should follow an initial inspection.

Once a vessel is detained, the Port State Control officer may either request for the ship to remain at the port, or anchored in another location of choice.

A detained ship cannot be released until the Port State Control Officer is satisfied with the rectification made on the deficiencies.

If for any reason, the ship has not complied with the Port State Control Officer’s request, the ship may face a ban from entering any port specific to the Port’s MOU. A banned vessel will be entered into a blacklist, which is gazetted to all parties of the MOU. What follows the ban is a competent officer will issue an access refusal order.

The Competent officers are then tasked to inform the ship’s flag state and the master of the ship.

Lifting the access refusal order will require the shipowner to pass an inspection undertaken by an appointed inspector.

How does this impact importers or exporters?

I believe that we can understand the impact on importers and exporters can be explained with an example.

Ship Erika

In 1999, Erika’s hull broke into two and the ship sank. Along with the ship, 30,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil dispersed over the high seas and find itself washed ashore of France.

Erika has been renamed 8 times, switched its flag state 4 times and changed classification society 4 times.

Until its demise, the ship had been in 23 years of service and also had gone through 18 Port State and flag state inspections.

Reportedly, all the inspections are done thoroughly and re-inspections after the prescribed repairs are also verified. Moreover, the ship charterers also undergo its own vetting. Yet, the structural integrity of the vessel did not survive high sea’s forces.

This incident amassed over 6000 claims of compensation for a total of 207 million Euros in 2004.

Now, what I am going to say is purely an opinion.

The ship Erika incident only highlights the fact that not only the bureaucracies of flag states, port states and classification society did not detect that the vessel is unseaworthy, but also delayed the effective implementation of international conventions like MARPOL.

The spectacular nature of the ship-breaking undercuts how this ship safety regime, although extensive, is not adequate.

Conclusion

In a perfect world where economic conditions permit, the charterer, exporter and importer should take special care when choosing a shipping line or a shipowner.

Vessel seaworthiness is both the most important factor in sea transportation and yet the most neglected criteria for shipping, especially in container shipping.

We trade base on the assumption that shipping lines will exact due diligence in providing seaworthy vessels. But it is certainly within our decision to avoid shipping lines, that have a bad reputation.

How we ascertain that a shipping line has a bad reputation, is to understand what its fleet is registered under, and also the historical incidents that may lead to suspicion.

Yes, we do not know all the variables, but we can only do our best, and not always trade with the shipping line with the cheapest ocean freight while neglecting the most important fact; Sea transportation should be done with a seaworthy vessel.

Hello! I’m Kelvin, I work as a custom broker and I’m thrilled with having the experience to share my industry knowledge with you. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I do posting them.

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Hello! I’m Kelvin, I work as a custom broker and I’m thrilled with having the experience to share my industry knowledge with you. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I do posting them.