Paris MOU
42 ships detained because of deficiencies related to structural safety and load lines
Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Structural Safety and the International Convention on Load Lines, carried out between 1 September 2011 and 30 November 2011 in the Paris MoU region show that:
42 ships were detained as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies related to structural safety and load lines in the Paris MoU region. Problem areas included stability, strength and loading information, ballast and fuel tanks and water and weather tight conditions.
The CIC questionnaire was completed during 4,386 inspections on 4,250 individual ships. A total of 1,589 CIC-related deficiencies were recorded and 42 ships (1%) were detained for CIC-related deficiencies.
During the campaign most inspections concerned general cargo/multi-purpose ships with 1,563 (36%) inspections, followed by bulk carriers with 795 (18%) inspections, container ships with 495 (11%) inspections, chemical tankers with 433 (10%) inspections and oil tankers with 296 (7%) inspections.
24 (60%) of the ships detained for CIC-related deficiencies were general cargo/multipurpose ships and 5 (12%) were bulk carriers. Among the other detained ships were 2 container vessels, 2 offshore supply ships, 2 passenger ships and 2 refrigerated cargo ships. 31% of the detained ships were 30 years or older.
Analysis of the recorded deficiencies shows that most deficiencies relate to the freeboard marks (12%), ventilators, air pipes and casings (7%), stability/strength/loading information and instruments (7%) and ballast, fuel and other tanks (5%).
Most inspections were carried out on ships under the flags of Panama with 493 (11%) inspections, Malta with 387 (9%) inspections, Antigua and Barbuda with 343 (8%) inspections and Liberia with 306 (7%) inspections. The flags with the highest number of CIC related detentions were Panama with 7 (17%) detentions, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with 6 (14%) detentions and Turkey with 3 (7%) detentions.
The background for this CIC was that, as an average for the last 8 years, deficiencies related to structural safety and load lines account for 15% of the total number of deficiencies. During the CIC 13% of the deficiencies recorded were related to structural safety and load lines. The CIC was a joint campaign with the Tokyo MoU. The States party of the Viña del Mar Agreement, the Indian Ocean MOU, the Mediterranean MOU and the Black Sea MOU have followed the same routine during the campaign.
The detailed results of the campaign will be further analysed and findings will be presented to the 45th meeting of the Port State Control Committee in May 2012, after which the report will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization.
Tokyo MOU
The Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Structural Safety and the International Convention on Load Lines was carried out in the Tokyo MOU region from 1 September 2011 to 30 November 2011.
This campaign was conducted jointly with the Paris MOU while regional PSC regimes of the Viña del Mar Agreement, the Indian Ocean MOU, the Mediterranean MOU and the Black Sea MOU also participated in the campaign.
The 18 member Authorities carried out a total of 7,534 PSC inspections which included 5,901 CIC inspections. During the campaign, 2,929 CIC-topic related deficiencies were found with 83 ships out of a total of 346 detentions being detained
for CIC related deficiencies. The detention rate for the CIC is 1.41% while the overall detention rate for the period is 4.59%.
The highest number of inspections were carried out on ships under the flags of Panama 1,900 (32.20%), Hong Kong (China) 468 (7.93%), Liberia 366 (6.20%) and Singapore 347 (5.88%).
The flags with the highest number of CIC related detentions were Cambodia 23 (27.71%), Panama 21 (25.30%), Sierra Leone 7 (8.43%) and Viet Nam 7 (8.43%).
Bulk carriers were the ship type with the highest number of CIC inspections which accounted for 1,898 (32.16%), followed by general cargo vessels 1,565 (26.52%) and container vessels 983 (16.66%).
The most significant deficiencies found during the campaign were related to the protection of openings (Ventilators, air pipes, casings) 554 (18.91%), followed with casing (Hatchway-, portable-, tarpaulins, etc) 273 (9.29%) and Doors 245 (8.36%).
A major concern that emerged during the CIC was the large number of recorded deficiencies relating to cargo hatch openings, with one casualty reported during this period. The deficiencies could be the result of poor design, improper cargo operations or inadequate maintenance/repair of the hatch openings.
Final analysis of the results of the campaign will be considered by the Port State Control Committee in April 2012 and will be presented to the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation of the IMO.