Despite apprehensions announced by the Asia-Pacific maritime community over unilateral actions by regions or countries on matters affecting standards and safety (see page x), European port states have announced an inspection blitz on oil tankers over 15 years old in response to the Erika oil spill last December.
According to recent reports an intensive inspection campaign has been planned for tankers over 15 years old and 3,000gt from September to November this year as port states step up their campaign to eradicate sub-standard ships.
Inspections with focus on both structural and operational aspects, according to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The enhanced inspection regime was one of the measures announced at a committee meeting of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris
MOU) in Southampton.
The committee has developing a checklist for use by inspectors.
Chairman of the committee Alan Cubbin said it was important that the port state control regime sends out a very strong and clear message that only tankers of the highest quality can expect to operate in Paris MOU ports.
The Paris MOU has developed checklist that covers aspects of the ship's operation and also the inspection of both ballast and cargo tanks when they are available for entry.
Ships that fall within the target category will be informed that inspectors will visit the vessel and asked to prepare tanks for inspection.
Although advance warning of inspections will be given, the lead time will be short so as to ensure companies do not take evasive action by changing voyage plans.
Two or three inspectors, with specialist tanker experience, will visit each ship and inspections would be expected to last about a day.
The Paris MOU also plans to draw up a black, grey and white list of flag states as a means of targeting the poorest performers more effectively.
Vessels will be given low, medium and high priority for inspection based on such criteria as the age of the ship and her detention record, the perceived level of expertise of the crew, and where she is flagged.
Statistics on the performance of class societies are to be included in the Paris MOU's annual report this year, the committee decided. Societies will be kept in the picture about the outcome of the enhanced port state inspections.
Under the terms of the Paris MOU signatories - which include 13 EU countries plus Canada, Croatia, Poland, Norway and the Russian Federation - each undertake to inspect 25% of individual foreign flagged ships visiting their ports in a co-ordinated effort.
The Paris MOU has also agreed to feed information contained in its own inspection database Sirenac into the new information database Equasis, which went live in May.
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