Regulatory News

AMSA Focused on Planned Maintenance During Port State Control Inspections 

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA’s) marine notice 10/2022 draws the attention of vessel operators to the importance of planned maintenance in ensuring safe operation of ships and highlights AMSA’s current focus on planned maintenance during Port State Control inspections. Maintenance of the ship and equipment is a requirement of the ISM Code, including that:

  • maintenance inspections are held at appropriate intervals
  • any non-conformity is reported, with its possible cause, if known
  • appropriate corrective action is taken, and
  • records of these activities are maintained.

During Port State Control inspections, AMSA will place a greater focus on planned maintenance of propulsion and auxiliary equipment and associated systems and will take necessary compliance actions to address any identified areas of concern. This may include the physical attendance of classification society surveyors to verify the condition of critical equipment and its suitability to continue to function under all voyage conditions to maintain safe operations. Operators should note that this is not a Focused Inspection Campaign (FIC) or Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) of limited duration. It is a sustained focus on an identified area of concern that is part of AMSA’s data driven and risk-based approach to their PSC inspection regime.