Port State Controls are not random and the longer a vessel goes without being controlled,
the higher up the priority list it goes…

Today, the chances of your yacht being controlled are higher than they have ever been and yet some owners and their captains still feel comfortable running their yachts regardless of that risk and the important consequences of being detained or arrested for deficiencies.

Playing the probability game, the chances of being inspected would seem slim. But for me, there are two inherent flaws in that logic.

The first is one of mindset. Port State Controls exist purely as an added incentive, if one were needed, for owners and captains to ensure their yachts are being run in accordance with MLC 2006 and international safety requirements.

They are not ‘traps’ for owners or captains, they are checks for the benefit of all on board. Running a yacht that is knowingly (or even unknowingly) deficient in any aspect of MLC poses enormous safety risks for all on board never mind the consequences of any control that uncovers them.

The second flaw in the logic, is that it misses one major fact: Port State Controls are not random. Yachts are selected based on their age, flag, classification society, ISM provider etc.

I, like so many experienced yacht managers, can share a catalogue of yachting incidences, some of them catastrophic, that could have been avoided, and in fact came about as a direct result of poor yacht operations and neglect for the minimum safety procedures and regulations that the MLC now codifies.

MLC Safety Procedures and Regulations

For me, the emphasis must always be on safety first. The consequences of failing a control just add further cost and penalty to an already untenable situation. So for the purposes of this series of articles, I am going to assume that you do care about the safety of all on board your yacht and you work hard to maintain the standards upheld by the MLC and international safety requirements..

But I am also going to assume that you run a busy yacht, schedules and plans change almost every day and your plate is forever full. The sort of ongoing situation which, with the best will in the world, can see some procedures or demands slipping and which in turn could result in you failing a PSC.

“FOR ME, THE EMPHASIS MUST ALWAYS BE ON SAFETY FIRST.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING A CONTROL JUST ADD FURTHER COST
AND PENALTY TO AN ALREADY UNTENABLE SITUATION.”

Franc Jansen
JMS Yachting
Yacht Management & Crew Services