The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) has released data pertaining to the concentrated inspection campaign on MARPOL Annex I, conducted last year.

The 25 Maritime Authorities of the Paris MoU carried out a Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) with the purpose to ensure that vessels entering the ports of the Paris MoU comply with the regulations in MARPOL Annex I. The CIC was conducted from 1st of February 2006 and was completed on 30th April 2006.

During every port State control inspection the ship's Oil Filtering Equipment, auxiliary boilers, the operation and correct recording of and maintenance were verified in more detail for compliance with MARPOL 73/78 Annex I. For this purpose port State control officers (PSCO) applied a questionnaire listing 13 items that covered the essential information to investigate whether a ship complies with the requirements.

In total 4614 ships were inspected during the CIC and 128 ships (2.8%) were detained with serious deficiencies. A total of 3213 deficiencies were recorded.

Cause for concern is, the fact that for about 360 ships (7.8%) no evidence was found that the ship had discharged into port facilities or burnt sludge in the ship's incinerator, which led to believe that illegal discharges at sea may have taken place.

On 1361 ships the auxiliary boiler was not marked on the IOPP certificate, and on 763 ships the incinerator was not included in the certificate.

In a significant number of cases the 15 ppm alarm and the three-way-valve or the stopping device was not correctly functioning or operable.

On 86 ships (1.8 %) illegal overboard connections of sludge tanks were found, which is considered a detainable deficiency.

The campaign underlines the importance to continue inspecting on MARPOL violations: an accident or wrongly operated equipment will have serious consequences for the environment.

Detailed results of the campaign will be discussed during the 40th meeting of the Port State Control Committee in May 2007 in Bonn, Germany.

Source of information:

Paris MoU

www.parismou.org

The UK P&I Club recently produced, in conjunction with Lloyd's Register, a pocket checklist for use on board to assist in the prevention of detention by Port State Control authorities due to MARPOL-related deficiencies. The Marine Pollution Prevention Pocket Checklist provides a detailed checklist of areas that must be up to standard, and highlights five areas where operational deficiencies are frequently found: oil and oily mixtures from machinery spaces; retention of oil on board; discharge violations; inconsistent oil record book entries; garbage management; and cargo residues.

Visit the ship inspection webpage for further information.