Turning the trend – Update of PSC Top 18 items

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, PSC detentions have been at an all-time high. To turn the tide on this trend, a focus should be set on the main detainable items during regular maintenance. DNV has updated the Top 18 list based on the newest developments.

Relevant for ship owners and managers.

Update of PSC Top 18 checklist

DNV’s detention statistics are showing some changes in the top focus areas, making an update of the Top 18 focus items necessary. The top detainable deficiencies will be revised annually and updated accordingly when needed. Please find below the latest list of the Top 18 technical detainable deficiencies – newly added deficiencies are marked in green.


To assist crews in focusing on these topics, the checklist in DNV’s PSC Planner has also been updated, in addition to the remaining ship and port-specific items.

DNV has issued an updated presentation with more details about the above items and with a link for downloading our publication from our PSC webpage.

PSC inspections and detentions in the main PSC regimes

DNV has noted an increase of the detention ratio, in particular in the Paris and Tokyo MoU. Thus, more ships will be detained as a result of an inspection.

Luc Smulders, Secretary General of the Paris MoU, addressed his concerns in a recently published article in TradeWinds: “While a direct link to Covid-19 cannot be easily established, it is concerning that the 2022 detention rate is the highest in 10 years.”

As per the TradeWinds article, Luc Smulders and Brian Hogan, Paris MoU Chairmen, said: “We hope, and in fact assume, that the chain partners in the maritime sector ... will also take measures to put a stop to this negative trend.”

DNV fully supports this view and has taken several additional measures to ensure vessels are in full compliance. Beside many News issues and seminars on varies technical topics, we would like to draw attention to the following, which should be more in focus during regular maintenance by crew:

  • Use PSC Planner checklists and insights to identify possible weak points of the vessels.
  • As the upcoming Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) is on fire safety, one of the main detainable deficiencies, special focus is needed here. Please join our special, informative webinar on 16 August 2023 “Port State Control – prepare for the CIC on fire safety starting in September” (dnv.com) – register here.   

PSC focus on ISM during inspections

The above focus items are mainly technical deficiencies. We would like to point out that PSC officers worldwide are focusing more on operational issues and crew performance, including maintenance. Together, the number of operational and performance deficiencies exceeds the number of all technical deficiencies. A combination of non-detainable deficiencies will very likely result in an ISM-related detainable deficiency (PSC Code 15xxx), which is consequently the most common PSC detainable item.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance that Masters, together with responsible persons ashore, verify if the Safety Management System (SMS) is still suitable to the actual condition of the crew and ship or if adjustments are necessary.

Recommendations

Owners and operators should inform crews about the changes in main PSC findings and empower them to place an additional focus on these topics during regular maintenance:

  • Familiarization with updated Top 18, including the presentation
  • Use of the PSC Planner and PSC Insights in Veracity
  • Preparation for upcoming CIC on fire safety, please join our special, informative webinar on 16 August 2023 “Port State Control – prepare for the CIC on fire safety starting in September” (dnv.com) – register here.

References

Contact

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