FACTS

Accidents due to inadequate ship inspections:

1. Insufficient inspections of the ship’s structural integrity can lead to fatigue cracks, corrosion, or other forms of damage going unnoticed.
2. Inadequate inspections of fire safety systems, electrical equipment, and fuel storage can lead to fire and explosion incidents.
3. Insufficient inspections of navigation equipment, including radar, GPS systems, and charts, can lead to navigational errors and collisions with other vessels, reefs, or shorelines.
4. Poor inspections of pollution prevention measures and equipment can result in oil spills, hazardous material leaks, or improper disposal of waste.
5. Negligence in inspecting safety equipment, machinery, and working conditions can result in accidents causing injuries or even fatalities to crew members or passengers.
6. Poorly executed cargo operations, inadequate securing methods, or failure to comply with loading guidelines can result in accidents, cargo damage, or capsizing of the vessel.

STATS

• Ship inspections often result in the identification of deficiencies or non-compliance issues. The deficiency rates vary depending on factors such as the ship’s type, age, flag state, and trading area. On average, studies have shown that approximately 10-20% of inspected ships are found with deficiencies.
• AMSA has issued its Inspection Report for year 2022 revealing that container ships are in the top five detained ship types for three years, accounting for nearly 15 % of arrivals during last year. In 2022, 1,181 bulk carriers were inspected with 3,446 deficiencies issued resulting in 76 detentions. The detention rate for bulk carriers increased to 6.4 per cent from 6.1 per cent in 2021.
• According to the report, the average PSC deficiencies per inspection increased from 2.2 % in 2021 to 2.58 per cent in 2022. This is significantly higher than the 10-year rolling average of 2.3 deficiencies per inspection.
• While there was a 14.7 % decrease in the number of initial PSC inspections, AMSA increased the inspection rate of Priority 1 (P1) ships, inspecting 88.5 per cent of all eligible arrivals of P1 ships. We decreased the inspection rate of Priority 4 (P4) ships, inspecting 24.5 % of eligible arrivals. The PSC results show that there was a slight increase in the detention rate of ships from 5.6 per cent in 2021 to 6.0 % in 2022.  The peak detention rate was in 2011 with 9.2 %. The 2022 detention rate is consistent with the 10-year rolling average of 6.0 %.
• 82 % increase in the number of detentions of DCVs, from 22 in 2021 to 62 in 2022.
• The inspection rate of RAVs remains consistent at 95 per year. The number of detainable deficiencies identified on RAVs fell by 43 per cent (from seven in 2021 to four in 2022).
• 1,181 bulk carriers were inspected with 3,446 deficiencies issued resulting in 76 detentions. The detention rate for bulk carriers increased to 6.4 % from 6.1 % in 2021.
• Container ships continue to perform poorly, being in the top five detained ship types for three years, and accounting for nearly 15 % of arrivals in 2022.