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ClassNK PSC report highlights common safety failings

ClassNK PSC report highlights common safety failings
ClassNK’s annual report on Port State Control (PSC) has found that its vessels registered in the Cook Islands were proportionately the most often-detained by inspectors in 2013.

Under ClassNK’s detention ratio, which takes into account the number of ClassNK ships registered under the flag, the Cook Islands were found to have a detention ratio of 28.6% in 2013, closely followed by St. Vincent and the Grenadines registry’s total of 27.8%. The result is consistent with both registries’ blacklisting by the Paris MOU on Port State Control.

Panama, which was found to have had the most detentions overall at 249, amounted to a detention ratio of 7.9% when its 3,160 vessels of 500 gt and over were taken into account.

Fire hazard: an oil-covered engine roomMeanwhile ClassNK found that the bulk of the detained vessels were ro-ro carriers, which suffered the most detentions of any ship type at 13.6%, reefer carriers accounted for 12.7% and general cargo vessels 10.4%.

Fire safety and life-saving appliances accounted for around a third of the 1,169 detainable deficiencies (DD) relating to 447 detentions in 2013, with 215 DD for fire safety and 166 for lifesaving appliances. Emergency systems, ISM code violations and safety of navigation each had significant numbers of DD, with 123, 119 and 94.

Within those categories, lifeboats, emergency fire pumps and fire-dampers continued to be the items where most deficiencies were found.

In 2013, 447 port state control detentions were reported relating to 411 ships classed by the Japanese society, representing 5.4% of ClassNK's fleet of 7,620 ships.

ClassNK retained its position as a high-performing recognised organisation by Paris MoU in 2013, with 18 detentions in 2011-2013 from 6,584 inspections. In 2011-2013 within Tokyo MoU ClassNK had 28,105 inspections resulting in 1,005 detentions. ClassNK was deemed responsible for 46 of those detentions, a 0.16% RO-responsible detention rate which is in line with competitiors ABS, BV and DNV-GL.

"ClassNK is working hard to increase the transparency of information related to PSC issues and make it even more difficult for substandard ships to survive in the marketplace," ClassNK stated in its release.

Images: a degraded hatch cover fastener, top; left: an oil-drenched engine room, a major fire hazard; below: rusted-through deck piping