North of England P&I Club Tells Members to Assert Themselves with Port State Control

A major P&I club is publicly advocating its members take more control of port-state inspections. The North of England P&I Club (NEPIA) issued a checklist to all of their vessels that outline steps to be taken to avoid potentially costly detentions. North of England spokespersons also said, “The better the control of the process, the better the outcome."

Major port-state-control regions carried out over 60,000 inspections annually, resulting in about 3,500 ship detentions, according to North of England records. As new IMO conventions and security protocols come into force, the number of inspections is unlikely to decrease any time soon. The North of England club maintains the delays caused by detentions can put shipowners in breach of charter parties, resulting in significant additional expenses and compromising their ability to trade.

In a May 30 press release, now posted on their website, NEPIA states, “Rather than allowing inspectors to tour the ship and discover potential problems, Andrew Kirkham, a NEPIA loss prevention executive, says that masters should provide them with comprehensive information on areas of restricted for security or safety, maintenance sections where work is taking place, the deficiencies that currently exist and what measures are being done to correct them, and what accidents or near misses have been reported recently. ‘In addition to being polite and cooperative, ships’ officers also need to be assertive,’ concludes Kirkham. ‘They need to know the facts and their rights, and learn about the port-state-control process by reading marine notices and guide books.”