ports and terminals. In effect the right of the coastal State to inspect foreign vessels is
derived from its sovereignty, international law and by mutual agreement.
Lloyds Register in line with its commitment to transparency publishes information on port State detention performance of Lloyds Register Classed fleet. As pointed
out at its website, this helps the industry to recognize recurring risks and improve
safety by highlighting those items that are hazardous to operations and yet continually produce detention.
As publicized on its website, the data provided include:
1. Detentions by ship type (oil tankers bulk carriers, container, passenger, LNG,
general cargo etc.)
2. Detentions related to ship, flag State.
3. Detentions by ship age by the detaining country.
4. League table of most prominent recurring deficiency items.
This data is indeed very useful for the industry and helps towards ensuring that
ship managers are conversant with the nature of the problems that frequently occur
and how to remedy them for safe shipping on clean oceans. It is to be noted that port
State inspection of foreign ships when in port was meant to be a backup for flag State
implementation. Over the years however, through practice, these have been shown to
be very effective in curbing substandard shipping. In order to foster the wide
implementation of port State control, the IMO has put in place measures to ensure
regional cooperation as well as the conclusion of regional agreements in this
respect.
77 This has become necessary to avoid the multiplicity of inspections of
various ports and to direct attention to substandard ships.
It is common knowledge that the primary responsibility for ensuring ship safety
and the setting of standards and inspection to ensure compliance are duties of the flag
State. It is however worth mentioning that as a safety net, port State control has
proven to be effective in identifying substandard ships and helping to rectify
revealed shortcomings.
Because shipping is global in nature, port State control is in-effective if restricted
to only a particular region of the globe. Consequently, currently, there exists nine
regional Agreements on port State control for which memoranda of understanding
(MOU’S) have being signed by countries within a region. These include for Europe
and the North Atlantic, (The Paris MOU), Latin America (Acuerdo de vina del Mar),
(Caribbean MOU), West and Central Africa (Abuja MOU), the Black sea region
(Black Sea MOU), the Mediterranean (Mediterranean MOU) and Indian Ocean
(Indian Ocean MOU) and the Riyadh MOU. The United States Coast Guard
maintains the tenth port State Control Regime.
Indeed in Europe, over time, there has been a conversion from an informal and
loose arrangement of the Paris MOU into an obligatory precept where various EU
77 IMO Resolution A. 682 (17).
518
E. K. Mbiah
derived from its sovereignty, international law and by mutual agreement.
Lloyds Register in line with its commitment to transparency publishes information on port State detention performance of Lloyds Register Classed fleet. As pointed
out at its website, this helps the industry to recognize recurring risks and improve
safety by highlighting those items that are hazardous to operations and yet continually produce detention.
As publicized on its website, the data provided include:
1. Detentions by ship type (oil tankers bulk carriers, container, passenger, LNG,
general cargo etc.)
2. Detentions related to ship, flag State.
3. Detentions by ship age by the detaining country.
4. League table of most prominent recurring deficiency items.
This data is indeed very useful for the industry and helps towards ensuring that
ship managers are conversant with the nature of the problems that frequently occur
and how to remedy them for safe shipping on clean oceans. It is to be noted that port
State inspection of foreign ships when in port was meant to be a backup for flag State
implementation. Over the years however, through practice, these have been shown to
be very effective in curbing substandard shipping. In order to foster the wide
implementation of port State control, the IMO has put in place measures to ensure
regional cooperation as well as the conclusion of regional agreements in this
respect.
77 This has become necessary to avoid the multiplicity of inspections of
various ports and to direct attention to substandard ships.
It is common knowledge that the primary responsibility for ensuring ship safety
and the setting of standards and inspection to ensure compliance are duties of the flag
State. It is however worth mentioning that as a safety net, port State control has
proven to be effective in identifying substandard ships and helping to rectify
revealed shortcomings.
Because shipping is global in nature, port State control is in-effective if restricted
to only a particular region of the globe. Consequently, currently, there exists nine
regional Agreements on port State control for which memoranda of understanding
(MOU’S) have being signed by countries within a region. These include for Europe
and the North Atlantic, (The Paris MOU), Latin America (Acuerdo de vina del Mar),
(Caribbean MOU), West and Central Africa (Abuja MOU), the Black sea region
(Black Sea MOU), the Mediterranean (Mediterranean MOU) and Indian Ocean
(Indian Ocean MOU) and the Riyadh MOU. The United States Coast Guard
maintains the tenth port State Control Regime.
Indeed in Europe, over time, there has been a conversion from an informal and
loose arrangement of the Paris MOU into an obligatory precept where various EU
77 IMO Resolution A. 682 (17).
518
E. K. Mbiah