MUSCAT, MAY 22 -
In discharge of its responsibilities as a Port State Control (PSC) authority, the Sultanate inspected a total of 257 commercial ships for their seaworthiness when they called at Omani ports in 2018.
Oman is a member of the Indian Ocean MoU (IOMOU) and Riyadh MoU — regional agreements on Port State Control concluded by nations around the world to rid the oceans and seas of substandard ships, while also ensuring that commercial vessels are manned and operated in compliance with international maritime conventions. In all, there are nine regional agreements on Port State Control governing navigation around the world.
In a report of its activities as a Port State Control (PSC) authority to the Indian Ocean MoU, Oman said it inspected as many as 257 foreign-flagged vessels in 2018. These inspections unearthed a total of 251 different types of “deficiencies”, while five vessels were detained for serious shortcomings.
“The Port State Control system aims to verify whether foreign flagged vessels calling at a port of a State comply with applicable International Maritime Conventions.
Each Authority ensures that the foreign merchant ships visiting its ports comply with the standards articulated in the relevant conventions and all amendments thereto in force.
When vessels are found not to be in substantial compliance with the applicable regulations, laws or relevant convention requirements, the PSC system imposes actions to ensure they are brought into compliance,” the IOMOU explained in a report of its objectives.
Member states of the IOMOU, in all numbering 20 as of December 2018, carried out as many as 5,700 vessel inspections in their jurisdictions last year while detaining more than 250 ships for serious deficiencies. Besides Oman, parties to the Indian Ocean MoU include Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, Eritrea, France (La Reunion), India, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Yemen.
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