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Department
of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources Publishes Annual Report on
Port State Control 200
Dublin,
4 April 2005 The
Maritime Safety Directorate of the Department of Communications, Marine and
Natural Resources, has published its Annual Report on Port State Control
Activities in Ireland for 2004. Port
State Control is the enforcement of rigid control measures by Department
Surveyors to ensure that foreign flagged ships entering Irish waters comply with
international marine treaties covering strict safety and anti-pollution
standards. The Annual Report shows that the number of inspections carried out
during 2004 exceeded the required 25% inspection target with over 400 foreign
flagged ships inspected by Department Surveyors in Irish Ports during the year. Port
State Control is organised on a regional basis in Europe through the Paris
Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (PmoU). The EU has also
introduced Directives implementing the PMoU requirements into Community
legislation. In
all 1393 deficiencies were noted on foreign flagged ships in Ireland during
2004. This is a 30% decrease from 2003 when 1990 deficiencies were found. Most
deficiencies related to navigational safety, fire fighting arrangements, life
saving appliances and living and working conditions for the crew. There
were 22 detentions of foreign flagged ships in Ireland during 2004. This is a
38% decrease in the number of detentions from 2003, when 35 foreign flagged
ships were detained and may reflect the success of the regional agreement, the
PmoU, in reducing the number of sub-standard ships. These detentions included
general cargo ships, container ships and ro-ro ships. The ships were registered
in many countries including Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the
Grenadines amongst others. These ships were detained where they posed a
significant threat to their crews and the coastline of Ireland. The
Department is continuing with its inspection campaign throughout 2005 and the
complete report for 2004 is available on the Department’s website at: http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Marine/Marine+Survey+Office/Port+State+Control/ Ken Cleary
Mobile: 087 905 9618 Fax: 353-1-678 2739 Website: www.dcmnr.gov.ie |
