The Hindu Business Line : New norms for ships detained in foreign port

THE Directorate-General of Shipping has proposed that any Indian vessel detained in a foreign port under the Port State Control (PSC) terminate its onward journey and return immediately to the nearest Indian port.

After reaching an Indian port, the detained ship will undergo detailed inspections by the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) surveyors, and only after ensuring that it is "fit" will it be allowed to resume trade in international waters. However, on inspection, if it is found to be in "substandard conditions," stiff penalties would be imposed, including restrictions on its operations.

Further, the proposal envisages that the trading licence of any ship that is subjected to two PSC detentions in a foreign port over any period of 12 months will be "modified" to restrict its operations to the Indian coast till its condition is improved "to the desired standards."

Informed sources told Business Line that the proposal to bring back detained vessels to the nearest Indian port has not gone down well with a section of the Indian shipowners. Some of them have pointed out that it might not be feasible to halt a ship's onward journey and bring it back to India due to "commercial commitments."

However, according to the sources, the shipowners' plea has not cut ice with the DG Shipping. It has also proposed that if a detained vessel is not suitably located for undertaking surveys at the intended port, it will have to undergo the surveys at the nearest port. The DG Shipping will not take into consideration any commercial aspects, such as higher repair or dry docking costs, to grant it permission to undertake a fresh voyage from its location to the intended port for dry-docking or repairs.

It has further proposed that all Indian ships operating in foreign waters should be subjected to at least one FSI inspection every year and the shipowner should get in touch with the nearest MMD for this purpose. Also, the owner should provide details on the date of call of the vessels in Indian port during the last year and the FSI inspection reports. Shipowners will have to furnish these reports for the current year on a monthly basis, with the first report for the months of January and February to be furnished by March 15.

The move forms part of DG Shipping's efforts to shore up India's sliding image in the international maritime trade arena in the wake of increasing incidents of Indian ships getting detained at various foreign ports under PSC.

Within the first six weeks of the current year, there have been five detentions — two vessels of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and one each of Essar Shipping, Sanmar and Surrendra. Even under the US Coast Guard (USCG) there had been one detention in the current year — APJ Shalin belonging to the Surendra Group was detained in the US under USCG on February 4. "This has resulted in Indian ships remaining under the watch list of USCG," sources said.

In the last year too, the performance of the Indian ships was not good, due to which India remained in the `Black List' of Paris MOU and `Grey List' of Tokyo MOU. "If this trend is not immediately halted, Indian ships may almost get banned from operations in the US, Paris and Tokyo MOU regions. More detentions indicate the falling standards of maintenance and housekeeping of Indian ships and lack of sufficient initiatives from the shipowners," the sources pointed out.