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MEO Class II: MEKG MEKM MEP MET SC&S SSEP 📊 Trends
Q9 (10 Marks) International Conventions
SSEP • Written Exam

(a) With reference to Port State Control, discuss

(i) Regional cooperation /agreements.

(ii) Future of port State control an effective tool for ship safety?

(b) Define a sub-standard vessel and give examples of detainable items under SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW and LL Conventions.

Appeared In: Jan 2023

✓ Verified Model Answer (Text Solution)

Structured for DG Shipping MEO Class II examination scoring criteria.

Exam Ready
Part (a)

With reference to Port State Control, discuss (i) Regional cooperation/agreements. (ii) Future of port State control an effective tool for ship safety?

Part (b)

Define a sub-standard vessel and give examples of detainable items under SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW and LL Conventions.

(Refer to the detailed answers for 6a68b2de3478942caa0b55dc and 64fb5507298e0e4445f97233.)

Part (a)

(i) Regional cooperation/agreements: PSC works through regional Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) - Paris, Tokyo, Indian Ocean, Caribbean, Abuja, Black Sea, Mediterranean, Riyadh, Viña del Mar - which harmonise and coordinate inspections, share a common procedure and database, target high-risk ships, and apply the "no more favourable treatment" principle, making PSC consistent and effective across a region.

Part (a)

(ii) Future of PSC: PSC will become more data-driven and risk-based (using LRIT/AIS/big data to target high-risk ships), extend to newer risks (cyber, GHG/CII, ballast, biofouling, MLC welfare), rely on "no more favourable treatment" and the sharing of inspection data, and use remote/AI-assisted inspection; it will remain an essential backstop to flag State control, though it faces challenges of staffing, harmonisation and over-focus on documentation.

Part (b)

Sub-standard vessel and detainable items:

  • A sub-standard vessel is one whose hull, machinery, equipment or operational safety is significantly below the standards required by the international conventions, such that it endangers safety of life at sea or the environment.
  • Detainable items under SOLAS: non-functioning lifesaving appliances (life rafts, lifeboats, EPIRB), fire main/firefighting inoperative, defective fire detection, emergency generator/general alarm failure, emergency power/lighting failure, navigation aids defective, GMDSS/radio inoperative, unsafe hull/watertight integrity, obstructed escape routes, ISM major non-conformity.
  • Under MARPOL: OWS defective or bypassed (pollution risk), no SOPEP, oil record book not maintained, garbage/ballast non-compliance.
  • Under STCW: insufficient or non-compliant manning, crew without valid certificates/endorsements, fatigue/rest-hour non-compliance.
  • Under Load Line (LL): overloaded, defective load line, watertight integrity/hatch closures defective, freeboard/plimsoll non-compliance.

Such items, where they constitute a serious risk, justify detention until rectified.

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