U.S. Detention Rate Dropped in 2016
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Port State Control 2016 Annual Report has been released, highlighting a decrease in detentions from 202 to 103, the flag state’s lowest in five years.
Rear Admiral Paul F. Thomas, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy at the U.S. Coast Guard said: “Though the drop in detentions is encouraging overall and may be a sign that owners and operators are putting greater emphasis on ship maintenance, we are seeing a rise in the percentage of detentions related to fire fighting and fire protection systems for the third straight year", MANA correspondent reported.
“As in 2015, there were a high number of detentions issued due to Port State Control Officers identifying quick closing fuel shutoff valves on fuel oil tanks blocked in the open position", he added.
Detention Percentage by Ship Type
In 2016, 9,859 vessels from 83 different flag administrations, made 81,877 port calls to the U.S. The Coast Guard conducted 9,390 SOLAS safety exams and 8,818 ISPS exams on these vessels.
MARPOL Annex I deficiencies have been on the decline over the past several years. “I hope that vessel owners and operators remain committed to meeting environmental compliance standards.
However, despite the numerous detentions, civil penalties, and even criminal prosecution actions in the most egregious cases, we continue to find instances where ships crews flagrantly disregard MARPOL Annex I requirements,” said Thomas.