PORT STATE CONTROL The Singapore Experience Tan Kim Liang Senior PSCO, MPA 2 December 2003

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience2 Introduction Singapore strongly supports quality shipping and port State control (PSC) Port State control plays an important part in ensuring ships are maintained in accordance with international standards There are 8 regional PSC regimes and we are a founding member of Tokyo MOU

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience3 Introduction Tokyo MOU has 18 maritime authorities as members The annual regional inspection target rate is set at 75% All members are linked up to the Asia- Pacific Computer Information System (APCIS) operated in Vladivostok

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience4 Introduction IMO is encouraging inter-regional cooperation and exchange of PSC data

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience5 Policy and Regulations Singapore follows closely procedures set by the Tokyo MOU Port State Control is provided for in the Merchant Shipping Act Singapore is also party to SOLAS, MARPOL, Load Lines, STCW and Tonnage conventions

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience6 Policy and Regulations When a ship is detained, concerned Parties are informed Singapore is a convenient port for rectifying deficiencies However, we have encountered difficulty in contacting some of the recognised organisations

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience7 Policy and Regulations IMO has issued a circular (MSC/Circ MEPC/Circ.382) requesting flag Administrations to provide information on ROs When a ship is detained and deficiencies have been rectified, a report is submitted to IMO and the APCIS of Tokyo MOU

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience8 Trends of Deficiencies found LSA and fire safety measures are always top of the list: Failure of lifeboat engines and launching gears and emergency fire pumps used to be widespread Recent decline in the number of such deficiencies could be attributed to the effort of PSC General dry cargo ships top the list of ships inspected

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience9 PSC Inspections in 2000 Singapore carried out PSC inspections on 1,023 ships This represents 9.4% of eligible individual ships calling Singapore that year 93% or 947 ships were found to have deficiencies. Total no. of deficiencies: 7, ships were detained (12.7%)

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience10 PSC Inspections in ships were inspected 170 ships were detained Top 3 categories of deficiencies were LSA, fire safety measures and navigation Deficiencies under MARPOL were also high

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience11 PSC Inspections in ships were inspected 66 ships were detained Top 3 categories of deficiencies were LSA, fire safety measures and navigation Deficiencies under MARPOL and STCW were also high

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience12 Most Common Deficiencies Bypassing OWS discharge connection OWS not working Garbage Management Plan not implemented Insufficient fire hoses and nozzles Funnel/machinery space dampers inoperable Emergency fire pump inoperable Lifeboat engines cannot start Batteries for SART/EPIRB expired Liferafts lashed/permanently secured

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience13 Profile of ships detained Ship types: –Dry cargo ships — 60% of total –Container ships — 26% of total 41% were classed with 3 classification societies 50% were between 16–25 years old 70% were between 500–10,000 GT

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience14 Changes in areas for attention MARPOL 73/78 Annex V (Garbage). Many ships did not comply with regulations but those that had no other deficiencies were not detained Bypassing the OWS. Many ships were bypassing the OWS in various ways Compromise to safety. Essential safety equipment could not be easily made available for emergencies

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience15 Way forward Singapore has intensified and will continue to intensify its inspection programme Inspection intervals will be shorter We participated in the Tokyo MOU’s Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on the Bulk Carriers We will carry out PSC inspections on Maritime Security in particular, we will check on the compliance with SOLAS Ch XI and ISPS Code

Port State Control: The Singapore Experience16 Conclusion Life-saving appliances, fire safety measures and navigation items continue to be the areas with the most deficiencies, although the situation has improved lately Cooperation and collaboration between parties involved can help eliminate sub- standard ships Flag States must be responsible and play their part