[160520.EN.BIZ] Safety Crackdown Led to More Ship Detentions in 2019: Report

SHIP detentions were up in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 after seven years of decline, according to the annual report of the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental agency of port state controller monitoring international regulations.

"These increases are improvements in targeting inspections, with an emphasis on inspection of under-performing and high risk ships," said the report.

Detention percentage also increased in 2019 after 10 continuous years' decrease. The number of under-performing ships published and number of individual ships involved also rose in 2019, reported Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.

International Safety Management (ISM) related detainable deficiencies have remained in the top three detainable deficiency categories for several years, said the Tokyo MOU. One third of all detentions are on the grounds of a major non-compliance with ISM.

The average number of detainable deficiencies per detention is trending upwards. As a result the Tokyo MOU will refine measures to inspect under-performing ships. These inspections will focus on the safety management system implemented on board ships and familiarization and understanding of operational requirements by the crew.

Operational requirements continue to be an area of concern due to the increasing complexity of shipboard systems and the pace of change, and the MOU is looking at mechanisms to address this.

The MOU's concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) on Emergency Systems and Procedures was conducted from September 1 to November 30, with 7,174 CIC inspections.

The most notable deficiencies found during the campaign were related to the muster list details in accordance with the requirements (178 deficiencies, 2.48 per cent), emergency source of the electrical power supply to essential equipment (151 deficiencies, 2.10 per cent), damage control plan readily available (137 deficiencies, 1.91 per cent), steering gear system and its related emergency alarm operation (127 deficiencies, 1.77 per cent) and capability of the public address system (112 deficiencies, 1.56 per cent). Fifty-five ships were detained as a direct result of the CIC, which represents a percentage of 0.77 per cent, lower than the overall detention percentage of 2.62 per cent for the same period.

Membership of Tokyo MOU was further expanded in 2019 upon with the acceptance of Panama as the 21st full member of the MOU. With Panama, four of the top five world largest flags (Panama, Marshall Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore) are members of the Tokyo MOU.

Source : HKSG.