The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has released its Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report for 2021, which shows that detention and deficiency rates per inspection have continued to remain low.

AMSA Executive Director of Operations, Michael Drake, said the authority’s reputation for having a zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with internationally agreed standards, continued to have a positive influence on the quality of ships being brought to Australia.

The 2021 detention rate sat at just 5.6 per cent, down slightly from the 2020 detention rate of 5.9 per cent. The 2021 deficiency rate per inspection was just 2.2, almost on par with the 2020 rate of 2.1.

“We have combined a consistent, zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with regional collaboration on port State control – including intelligence sharing and awareness raising with industry – to achieve this standard of shipping,” Mr Drake said.

“This has been an effective deterrent to the owners and operators of most sub-standard ships, who wisely choose not to run the risk of having those ships detained in Australian ports.”

Read the full report here.