200308 Poor State Control?

Poor State Control?
Report No. 200308

Port State Inspections were instituted for good reasons but, as the following account shows, in some cases the point about safety has been lost in the exercise of power.

This ship is a well run small container vessel of under 3,000 GRT owned by a reputable European company and on charter to one of the largest cargo carriers. She is on a regular run and has had Port State Inspections at intervals of approximately six months. She flies the Bahamas flag.

On the last occasion of a Port State Inspection, the vessel had arrived on the Thursday and was due to sail at noon on Saturday. The inspector arrived without warning 2½ hours before sailing time, thus ensuring there was little or no time to correct any deficiencies discovered. The only "fault" he could find was that the Master's Bahamian certificate had not been endorsed for STCW 95. For this reason he detained the vessel until another Master could be found with the appropriate endorsement. While this action appeared to be legal the following points are relevant:

1. The Master in question had a full certificate issued and endorsed for STCW 95 by the MSA of a very reputable authority.
2. Being on a Bahamian ship, he also had a Bahamas certificate and application had already been made for the new endorsement.
3. Evidence of this application was shown to the inspector.
4. Bahamas authorities always accept certificates from the said authority but their paperwork is notoriously slow - (My own "approval" is a fax with a Bahamas letterhead saying my application has been received and ticket will be issued in due course.)
5. The inspector expressed delight that he had found something to detain the ship and said he had checked with his head office whose response had been "If there is any deficiency in the paperwork - detain the vessel". (Note - Not safety or material but just paperwork).

The point is that Port State Inspections are supposed to be for safety purposes. There was no question of safety here. The Inspector knew the Master was STCW 95 compliant, his own organization had issued the ticket! He knew the Bahamas endorsement would turn up in the mail. The only "crime" was the letterhead on the top of the application letter. For this, a perfectly competent Master, who had commanded this vessel for several trips already, was taken off the ship, the vessel delayed five hours and my leave disrupted with three hours to join the ship.

That the competence of the original Master was not in question was demonstrated shortly afterwards when he sailed from the same port in another vessel with the authority's blessing.

When the inspector was asked why he had left the ship in port for two days then boarded 2½ hours before sailing time he grinned and said "I was busy". The incident certainly appeared to be a malicious exercise of authority to massage the ego of a small minded inspector.