Minister of State for Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan has informed that the certification and survey of Indian Flag Cargo vessels are conducted by recognized organizations such as American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), DNV-GL(AS), Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) , Korean Register of Shipping (KRS), Lloyd’s Register (LR), Nippon Kaiji Kayokai (NKK) and Registro Italian Navale (RINA).
In order to exercise control over the quality of surveys and also for maintenance of ships between surveys, the Indian Flag vessels are inspected by Flag Surveyors (Government Surveyors at various offices of Mercantile Marine Departments) as part of Flag State Interventions (FSI) regime. The frequency of FSI inspections based on the age of the vessels are detailed in Merchant Shipping Notice 4 of 2017. The control of Foreign Flag vessels visiting India is conducted under Port State Control (PSC) regime by Government Surveyors at various Mercantile Marine Departments.
Indian Flag Vessels are inspected as per guidelines given in Merchant Shipping Notice 4 of 2017. Foreign Ships visiting India are inspected as per guidelines given in Merchant Shipping Notice 04 of 2017 and International Maritime Organization Resolution 1052(27): “Procedures for Port State Control 2011”.
The details of number of violations detected is as follows-
| S.no | Year | Violation in Flag State Inspections (in Numbers) | Violation in Port State Control Inspections (in Numbers)
|
| 1 | 2014 | 25
|
53 |
| 2 | 2015 | 18
|
44 |
| 3 | 2016 | 19
|
19 |
| 4 | 2017 (upto June 2017) | 12
|
11 |
Any violation during inspection results in detention of vessel, which is not allowed to sail till the violation is rectified. Detention fine is levied on vessels in accordance with Director General of Shipping (DGS) Finance & Accounts Circular 13 of 2010 for both Indian Flag and Foreign Flag vessels detained for violations.