At the 23rd meeting of the Port State Control Committee in Singapore last month, the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU) decided to introduce a New Inspection Regime (NIR) for selection of ships from 1 January 2014.
The incident occurred on Draugen in connection with a wireline operation in a well. The well was completed and started producing in 1994. Since January 2010, the well has been shut-in. Planning for the wireline operation started in the 4th quarter of 2009. During a planned test, it was discovered that the hydraulically operated main valve in the Xmas tree was not tight, which would entail repair or replacement. The wireline operation was therefore postponed until the main valve had been fixed. At the end of November 2010, the main valve had been repaired, and the implementation of the planned wireline operation could start again.
DNV has over the last years seen an increase in engine damage due to catalytic fines, even though the bunkered fuel has been in accordance with ISO 8217 marine fuel specification and fuel treatment is standard procedure and implemented for all vessels. Damage (incident occurred in 2010), that can be traced back to catalytic fines occurred after only 100 running hours, making the engine totally inoperable. All pistons and liners were totally destroyed and had to be changed.
The following tables summarize some findings from the PSC inspections conducted in the main PSC MoU areas (Black Sea MoU, Mediterranean MoU, Indian Ocean MoU, Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU) during last month. Data have been also gathered from various Coast Guard agencies and are presented in each month’s report. Data from other PSC MoUs (Vina del Mar, Abuja MoU, Riyadh MoU) could not be extracted at the time this report has been issued and therefore were not included.
| PSC MoUs | Black Sea | Mediterranean | Indian | Paris | Tokyo |
| Total Inspections | 599 | 411 | 551 | 1650 | 3651 |
| With Deficiencies | 446 | 232 | 355 | 1214 | 2524 |
| Without Deficiencies | 153 | 179 | 196 | 436 | 1127 |
| Detentions | 14 | 19 | 31 | 54 | 154 |
The direct cost of an engine room fire can be in the range of 1–4 million USD for a cargo vessel and much more for a passenger vessel. Off-hire and loss of goodwill adds to this figure and is perhaps the most difficult asset to replace. Engine room fires also represent a hazard for crew members working in that area and fire fighters.
Fire safety on board ships is still serious concern. Recent events have demonstrated that a fire on board a ship can be potentially devastating and can seriously affect the safety of those on board. Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety Systems, carried out between 1 September 2012 and 30 November 2012 in the Paris MoU region show important trends on the current situation onboard merchant vessels.
On 20.00 on 2 June 2010, the Finnish dry cargo vessel NAJADEN and the car carrier PALMELA informed to the VMC-ZWN Traffic Control Centre in southwestern Holland controlling the Caland Bridge that they needed the bridge to be opened so that they could sail from the Brittanniehaven towards the Caland Canal. The PALMELA reported first, and after her the NAJADEN. The NAJADEN told that she wanted to use the same bridge opening as the PALMELA.
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Officer of the Watch 