The United States Coastguard has placed IRS – International Register of Shipping, in the top bracket of those recognised organisations (RO) that consistently achieve zero detentions for its registered vessels for the third time in just six years. IRS’ strong performance reported by the USCG in its Annual Report 2014 follows the successful completion of performance audits by the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding and the Panama government.
IRS passed the Panama audit without any major non-conformances or the need for a follow-up audit, placing the classification society amongst leading industry ROs, including the American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register and DNV GL. The United States Coastguard (USCG) conducted its lowest number of safety exams in 2014 but reported that the number of detentions for environmental protection and safety related deficiencies had slowly increased in the past four years. The largest number of ship detentions comprised bulk carriers followed by containerships with ISM related issues heading the list of safety deficiency types closely followed by MARPOL and fire-fighting appliances.
IRS Member of Board of Directors Panos Kirnidis is delighted with the report: “The United States Coastguard is one of the world’s most active and stringent maritime authorities and for IRS to achieve zero detentions in its latest annual report is a real testament to our dedication and professional operations. Over the past few years we have made significant investments in systems and processes to improve the service we offer to ships in the IRS fleet.
We understand the importance of performance and safety and this is borne out by this latest USCG report.” In the report, Rear Admiral Paul F. Thomas of the USCG said: “We found a major factor for the detention increase is the intentional deviation from compliance from MARPOL Annex 1 requirements. As we move forward, I will continue to look for owners, operators, crews, flags, and class societies to make it a goal to eradicate such unsafe practices. I appreciate those vessel owners and operators who remain committed to fostering a culture of safety and security on their vessels, and I look forward to continued improvement in the future.”
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