In a significant shake up for port state control regimes, the black, grey and white lists could be sent to oblivion.
Port state control regimes held a recent workshop at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) where important recommendations were discussed including changing the quality tonnage list system.
Among the recommendations made at the meeting, the PSC regimes agreed to explore the development of statistical output and to look into the compatibility of their systems. They also agreed to consider moving away from black/grey/white lists towards expanding an individual ship risk profile approach.
The workshop, held late last month, noted the growing number of PSC regimes implementing targeted inspections mechanisms, as well as incentive schemes, so that ships found in compliance with international standards are subject to fewer inspections, while substandard ships are targeted more.
IMO said in a release the discussions centered on getting further collaboration, harmonization and information sharing among port states.
The workshop recommended that PSC regimes consider developing and maintaining, in their information systems, a coordinated list of under-performing ships. The possible development of a common platform for interregional exchange to facilitate informal exchange among PSC regimes, as well as the development of joint working policies, were also discussed. The workshop also recommended that IMO consider developing a harmonized training manual for use by flag state inspectors and PSC officers.
The recommendations will be forwarded for review by IMO and the regional governing bodies of PSC regimes.
Since the first regional PSC agreement, the Paris MoU, was signed in 1982, IMO has supported the establishment of eight other regional PSC regimes. The Paris MoU was top of the news agenda yesterday on Splash with reaction to the decision by member states of the Paris MoU to stop providing data at source to the industry.
