Port state control

Summary

INTERTANKO acknowledges that Port State Control (PSC) has a vital role to play within the shipping industry in ensuring that standards of safety and environmental protection are maintained and supports and encourages PSC in this function to identify sub-standard vessels.

Issue Review

INTERTANKO is addressing the issue through the INTERTANKO Vetting Committee including:

• Ongoing dialogue with the world's PSC MoUs and Coast Guards.
• Attendance and representation at IMO's Navigation Sub-Committee.
• Co-operation with our sister shipping associations.
• Production of relevant publications such as "A Guide to the Vetting Process"
• Presentations and papers at international trade shows and conferences
• We have been sucessful in achieving one of our goals on this issue by encouraging several MoUs to instigate independant detention review boards, which are now in place with the Paris, Tokyo & Meditterannean MoUs. 

INTERTANKO Position on PSC 

INTERTANKO fully acknowledges and supports the role of port state control (PSC) within the shipping industry in ensuring that safety is maintained and protection of the environment is enforced. INTERTANKO actively encourages PSC in its function to identify sub-standard vessels. However, INTERTANKO believes in rewards to the good owner such as reduced targeting and/or inspections, for example.

INTERTANKO encourages PSC to utilise not only targeting systems but common targeting systems as effective tools to identify sub-standard vessels. The USCG and the Paris MoU already have such targeting systems in place, which are encouraged by INTERTANKO. We also believe that better targeting of sub-standard vessels will in itself create a reward for the good owners by resulting in less inspections for their vessels. 

Deliverables

1. INTERTANKO is striving for targeting systems to be expanded to other MoUs and globally harmonised as well as globally harmonised training standards for Port State Control Officers.

2. INTERTANKO would like to see the charterer named in addition to the owner when a vessel is detained. (Identification of the sub-standard charterer is as important as identifying the sub-standard owner.)

3. INTERTANKO is seeking to have an independent detention Review Board created within each MoU (so that in the event an owner feels a detention is unjustified an independent review could be undertaken into that detention and if, after review and so decided, the independent body could recommend to the imposing authority that the detention is rescinded and the vessel's record restored). We have seen a lot of sucess in this area with the Paris MoU instigating their independent detention review process, followed by the Tokyo MoU and recently the Mediterranean MoU.

4. INTERTANKO is working for greater sharing of inspection records between MoUs as we believe this will be beneficial.

5. INTERTANKO believes that important lessons can be learned by the analysis of PSC performance and records.

6. INTERTANKO continues in open and regular dialogue with PSC officials and industry authorities.

7. INTERTANKO continues to promote the development of "Best Practices" within PSC regimes. (We are pleased to see the production of such guides by some MoUs particulary the Paris MoU).

8. INTERTANKO will also continue to work to ensure that the integrity of PSC is maintained and encourages our members to advise us in instances where this is not the case. As a consequence we continue to strive for appropriate mechanisms for confidential feedback systems to be developed. 

INTERTANKO Committee handling the issue of PSC

The INTERTANKO Vetting Committee