The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has published its 2022 Inspection Report. It reveals that container ships are in the top five detained ship types for three years in a row, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of arrivals during last year. In 2022, 1,181 bulk carriers were inspected with 3,446 deficiencies issued resulting in 76 detentions. The detention rate for bulk carriers increased to 6.4 per cent from 6.1 per cent in 2021.
According to the report, the average Port State Control (PSC) deficiencies per inspection increased from 2.2 per cent in 2021 to 2.58 per cent in 2022. This is significantly higher than the 10-year rolling average of 2.3 deficiencies per inspection.
AMSA’s DCV (Domestic Commercial Vessels) inspection processes continue to be imbedded into normal operations. The increase in detentions of DCVs reflects the importance AMSA places on protecting crew, passengers and the marine environment. The reduction in the number of initial PSC inspections, with the increase in detention rate shows that AMSA is directing resources towards ships of a higher priority, while not inspecting ships of a lower priority.
AMSA inspectors undertook the following in 2022:
– 2,671 initial DCV inspections on DCVs.
– 95 initial FSC inspections on RAVs.
– 2,405 initial PSC inspections on 2,167 foreign flagged ships.
– 1,122 follow up inspections on foreign flagged ships.
– 54 follow up inspections on Australian RAVs.
There was a nearly 20 per cent increase in the number of deficiencies issued to DCVs, from 7,311 in 2021 to 8,769 in 2022. There was a 182 per cent increase in the total detentions of DCVs, up from 22 detentions in 2021 to 62 detentions in 2022.
While there was a 14.7 per cent decrease in the number of initial PSC inspections, AMSA increased the inspection rate of Priority 1 (P1) ships, inspecting 88.5 per cent of all eligible arrivals of P1 ships. We decreased the inspection rate of Priority 4 (P4) ships, inspecting 24.5 per cent of eligible arrivals. The PSC results show that there was a slight increase in the detention rate of ships from 5.6 per cent in 2021 to 6.0 per cent in 2022. The peak detention rate was in 2011 with 9.2 per cent. The 2022 detention rate is consistent with the 10-year rolling average of 6.0 per cent.
Read the full report online at the AMSA website