Port State Control Flashcards
Flag State Control
Flag State Control is responsible for ensuring that British vessels are inspected in
accordance with both UK regulations and the appropriate international memoranda,
conventions and protocols the UK has ratified and adopted
Port State Control (PSC)
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.
Enforcement of IMO and ILO conventions
Port State control provisions are contained in several of the main conventions. For example, SOLAS regulation I/19 provides that:
• Every ship in a port of another SOLAS country is subject to control by authorised officers of the port State for the purpose of verifying that SOLAS certificates carried are valid.
• Certificates, if valid, will be accepted unless there are clear grounds for believing that the condition of the ship or its equipment does not correspond substantially with the particulars on any of the certificates or that the ship and its equipment do not comply with SOLAS.
• Where a certificate has expired or ceased to be valid, the port State control officer will detain the ship until it can proceed to sea or to a repair port without danger to the persons on board.
• In event of detention, the flag State’s consul, IMO, and surveyors of the organisations issuing the certificates will be informed.
• Where the port State is unable to take action, or where it allows a ship to proceed despite defects or deficiencies, it will notify the authorities at the next port of call.
• When exercising control, all possible efforts will be made to avoid a ship being unduly detained or delayed.
Masters should bear in mind that one of the conditions of continued validity of SOLAS certificates is that any accident or defect affecting the ship’s safety or completeness (including structure, machinery and equipment) must be reported at the earliest.
Memorandum of Understanding MOU
Several of the most important IMO technical conventions such as SOLAS and MARPOL contain provisions for ships to be inspected when they visit foreign ports to ensure that they meet IMO and ILO requirements. IMO has encouraged the establishment of regional port State control organisations and agreements on port State control.
A “Port State Control regime”, where set up under a “memorandum of understanding” (“MOU”) or similar accord between neighbouring port States, is a system of harmonised inspection procedures designed to target sub-standard ships with the main objective being their eventual elimination from the region covered by the MOU’s participating States.
Eight international PSC agreements are currently in force world-wide, as follows:
• Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MOU).
• Acuerdo de Viña del Mar (Latin-American Agreement).
• Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding (Tokyo MOU).
• Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding (Caribbean MOU).
• Mediterranean Memorandum of Understanding (Mediterranean MOU).
• Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (Indian Ocean MOU).
• West and Central African Memorandum of Understanding (Abuja MOU).
• Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding (Black Sea MOU).
• The US Coast Guard operates a national Port State Control Initiative.
Ship risk profile
All ships calling at a port or anchorage in the Paris MoU region are assigned a ship risk profile - high, standard or low - which is recalculated daily in the inspection database. The ship risk profile determines the priority for inspection, intervals between inspections and the type of inspection. The purpose is to ensure that the frequency and detail of inspections carried out reflects the risk posed by the ship, which includes reducing the burden of inspection on low risk ships.
Detentions
All vessels, whether owned privately or commercially, by the act of voluntarily entering the internal waters of a coastal State, place themselves within the jurisdiction of the coastal State. Seafarers, passengers and others going ashore from a visiting ship are subject to the laws of the port State whilst ashore in the port State.
Where an inspection reveals deficiencies which in the professional judgment of the inspector are clearly hazardous to safety, health or the environment, the ship will be detained or the operation revealing such deficiencies will be stopped. The detention notice or stoppage of an operation will not be lifted until the hazard is removed or the MCA has established that the ship can, subject to any necessary conditions, proceed to sea safely and without risk to the safety and health of passengers or crew, to other ships, or without an unreasonable threat of harm to the marine environment.
When a ship is detained the MCA will immediately inform the flag administration in writing, including a report of inspection, of the circumstances of detention. Recognised organisations responsible for the issue of classification or statutory certificates will be notified where relevant.
Bottom Line
Whilst on board their ship when she is in a foreign port, Masters and seafarers are subject both to the laws of the flag State and to the laws of the port State. The Master of a UK ship must, even while in a foreign port, carry out various duties under UK Merchant Shipping legislation, such as providing means of access, making official log book entries, etc, and the port State authorities will not normally interfere with the operation of the ship under those provisions so long as there is no breach of the port State’s laws.
Offences discovered during port State control inspections may result in detention by the port State, if it is a Contracting Party to the convention being breached.
Improvement and prohibition notices
The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 confer powers on inspectors appointed under section to issue Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices to persons in breach of their statutory duties under the Merchant Shipping Acts.
These powers, which are normally exercised by MCA surveyors acting as “inspectors”.
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For example, the Master of a ship in port where the accommodation ladder is not properly rigged. In this case, the necessary measures required to bring the rigging of the ladder into compliance with the MS (Means of Access) Regulations would be specified on the schedule to the Notice.
An Improvement Notice requires specified improvements to bring health and safety
arrangements up to regulation standard within a specified period. Non - observance of their
requirements leads to a prosecution by the issuing body
A Prohibition Notice prohibits an unsafe operation or the use of an unsafe item of equipment.
It gives notice that, in the opinion of the named inspector, the stated activities, which are
being carried out or are likely to be carried will involve a risk or imminent risk of serious
personal injury or serious pollution of navigable waters.
