An increasing number of Indian ships is coming under the scanner of the International Port of State Control agencies. As many as 11 Indian ships were detained abroad in the first eight months of calendar year 2005 compared with 14 in the whole of last year.
The list of detained ships includes the vessels of the Shipping Corporation of India, Essar Shipping, Varun Shipping, India Steamship and Sanmar Shipping. According to Indian National Shipowners' Association secretary-general S S Kulkarni, the cost of detention is $25,000 to $30,000 per day for new vessels and $10,000 to $15,000 per day for older vessels. In addition to a loss of voyage days, the detention of ships also means a huge repair bill and penalty for those companies whose vessels have been detained.
"More than the penalty and repair cost, the loss of voyage days hurts us the most. At a time when the freight market is booming, we cannot afford to lose even one day in detention," said a shipping company executive on condition of anonymity.
Iran tops the list in detaining Indian vessels with four ships. Pakistan, Singapore, Australia, China, Malta, Russia and South Korea also feature in the list. Of the 11 detentions, at least six were actually avoidable.
"With the increase in instances of detention abroad, Indian ships have moved to the watch list of the United States Coast Guard and the grey list under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding and the Tokyo MoU.
"If the instances of detention increase, India may get blacklisted. In that case, the ships will come under stricter inspection norms," an official told Business Standard.
The grey list denotes medium risk while the white list indicates low record of detention.
The MoUs of various countries aim at eliminating the operation of sub-standard ships. They also ensure that ships meet international safety, security and environmental standards through an on-board inspection system of PSC.
Directorate-general of shipping officials said the government would take up the matter with Maritime Safety Council of International Maritime Organisation. "We are planning to move the Flag State Implementation Committee of IMO on these unjustifiable detentions. Indian ship owners should also give greater focus to better vessel maintenance as detentions spoil India's image abroad," the officials pointed out.
Shipping industry sources said in most of the cases, the reasons cited by the surveyors for detentions were not justified. For instance, Iran is citing minor deficiencies as reasons for detaining the vessels. Industry sources also alleged that the PSC offices of some countries were hand-in glove with local repair yards. A detention will force the owner of a ship to carry out repairs in the country that has detained the vessel.
In troubled waters
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Indian vessels detained abroad in Jan-Aug 2005: 11
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Indian vessels detained abroad in 2004: 14
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Shipping Corporation of India, Essar Shipping, Orient Ship Management, Polaris Marine, Varun Shipping, Waterways Shipyard, India Steamship and Sanmar Shipping affected
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PSCs inspect foreign ships at various ports to verify compliance with global regulations
- Multiple detentions may lead to blacklisting of India
