Fewer ships detained for safety, security

Fewer ships detained for safety, security    The U.S. Coast Guard said it detained fewer ships in 2010 for environmental protection and safety related deficiencies.
   Ships detained decreased from 161 in 2009 to 156 in 2010, and the total number of ships detained in 2010 for security related deficiencies decreased from 18 to 17, the Coast Guard said.
   Releasing its annual report on port state control, the Coast Guard said in 2010 it made 9,907 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) exams and 8,906 safety exams under the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. In 2010, 9,260 individual vessels, from 90 flag administrations, made 76,372 U.S. port calls.
   The Coast Guard said six additional ship registries became qualified for the Quality Shipping for the 21st Century program, or QUALSHIP 21. They are the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Liberia, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu. There are 20 flag states whose ships are potentially eligible for the QUALSHIP 21 program.
   QUALSHIP recognizes and rewards vessels, as well as their owners and flag administrations, for their commitment to safety and quality.
   “To encourage maritime entities to participate, incentives such as certificates, name recognition, and a reduction in port state control examination frequency are given to participants,” the Coast Guard said. But it added “criteria for inclusion are very strict and only a small percent of all foreign-flagged ships that operate in the United States have earned the QUALSHIP 21 designation. The QUALSHIP 21 program ended calendar year 2010 with an enrollment of only 383 vessels.”