The Tokyo MOU port-state-control (PSC) authority has reported a dramatic fall in safety inspections in the Asia-Pacific region last year.
The Asia-Pacific PSC authority, which represents 21 countries, reported that inspections had reduced by 40% as measures to curb the spread of coronavirus prevented its inspectors from accessing ships.
The Tokyo MOU said: “Strict restrictions on ship-shore interactions and large-scale lockdown were adopted in many places of the region, which resulted [in] a significant decrease [in the] number of inspections.”
The huge decline in inspections will raise safety concerns as PSC plays a major role in identifying sub-standard shipping and ensuring crew are protected by compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
In 2020, the Tokyo MOU said 19,415 inspections were carried out by its member states, compared to 31,372 in the previous year.
PSC inspections have been consistently above 31,000 in the previous eight years.
The number of detentions also fell dramatically from 983 in 2019 to 493 in 2020. The drop in detentions reflects the decrease in inspections rather than an improvement in the safety performance.
The Tokyo MOU said it had identified an increase in deficiencies related to working and living conditions under the MLC.
Hundreds of thousands of crew have been forced to work beyond their contracted period because of Covid-19 related travel restrictions, which has put them in breach of the MLC.
The Tokyo MOU said the increase in MLC-related deficiencies “reflects the severe impacts by Covid-19 on crew change and seafarers’ repatriation”.
In total, there were 5,296 deficiencies related to the Maritime Labour Convention uncovered by the Tokyo MOU during its inspections last year.
Of those, 2,090 were related to health protection and medical care, 1,032 to accommodation and recreational facilities, 523 to conditions of employment and 1,311 to working conditions.
