AMSA will be closed from 5 pm AEDT Tuesday 24 December 2024, re-opening on Thursday 2 January 2025. Our search and rescue will continue to operate every day (24/7) during this time. See which services are affected.

Table 1 - Ship Arrivals in 2023

Ship type20222023Change
Bulk carrier14,45614,493+0.3%
Chemical tanker928467-49.7%
Container ship3,8974,169+7.0%
Gas carrier1,3591,475+8.5%
General cargo/ multi-purpose1,1801,750+48.3%
Livestock carrier231239+3.5%
Oil tanker842839-0.4%
Passenger ships4881,075+120.3%
Vehicle carrier1,4391,140-20.8%
Other1,9543,116+59.5%
Total arrivals26,77428,763+7.4%

Table 2 - PSC Inspections by ship type

Ship type20192020202120222023
Bulk carrier1,8261,8401,7121,1811,444
Chemical tanker20123519112662
Combination carrier01426
Commercial yacht00100
Container ship327263238302323
Gas carrier7755243140
General cargo/ multi-purpose ship129135156177258
Heavy load carrier4036271212
High speed passenger craft00000
Livestock carrier5629363533
MODU or FPSO00011
NLS tanker3031271914
Offshore service vessel121510716
Oil tanker168126124128106
Oil tanker/ chemical tanker021667112
Oil Tanker/ NLS Tanker00110
Other types of ship2118261727
Passenger ship562322754
Refrigerated cargo ship21425
Ro-ro cargo ship92446
Ro-ro passenger ship01010
Special purpose ship108553
Tugboat2426182835
Vehicle carrier172122129169193
Wood-chip carrier6252656347
Totals3,2223,0212,8202,4052,797

Table 2 shows the number of inspections by ship type from 2019 to 2023.

Table 3 - Inspections by location (top 15 locations in 2023)

Port20222023% Change% of total in 2023
Port Hedland204367+79.9%13.1%
Newcastle294318+8.2%11.4%
Brisbane176256+45.5%9.2%
Fremantle246256+4.1%9.2%
Melbourne235249+6.0%8.9%
Dampier119210+76.5%7.5%
Sydney204177-13.2%6.3%
Gladstone93100+7.5%3.6%
Hay Point8279-3.7%2.8%
Townsville7778+1.3%2.8%
Port Kembla6177+26.2%2.8%
Geelong7076+8.6%2.7%
Darwin6567+3.1%2.4%
Port Adelaide7764-16.9%2.3%
Geraldton7458-21.6%2.1%

Table 4 – PSC inspections in 2023 by state/territory

State/territoryPSC inspections
Western Australia999
Queensland636
New South Wales572
Victoria340
Tasmania100
South Australia77
Northern Territory72
Christmas Island1
Total2797

Table 5 – Inspections by flag State

Flag State20192020202120222023
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA3037363252
BAHAMAS1191148979101
BANGLADESH00101
BARBADOS12114
BELGIUM3123410
BELIZE00000
BERMUDA177349
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM00000
CAYMAN ISLANDS2929251514
CHINA6336415255
COOK ISLANDS58967
CROATIA01101
CYPRUS6654575158
DENMARK2412101512
DOMINICA10000
EGYPT00000
FIJI00000
FRANCE83053
GERMANY41302
GIBRALTAR22344
GREECE6347422441
HONG KONG, CHINA399330358257277
INDIA65777
INDONESIA00110
ISLE OF MAN5440422233
ITALY24209510
JAMAICA20132
JAPAN5866494348
KIRIBATI00010
KOREA (THE REPUBLIC OF)3727233026
KUWAIT43342
LIBERIA401399378313446
LIBYA20100
LUXEMBOURG165866
MALAYSIA128627
MALTA191184143125136
MARSHALL ISLANDS405397429353349
MONTENEGRO00112
NETHERLANDS2223142138
NEW ZEALAND21224
NORWAY7055564976
PAKISTAN01000
PALAU00002
PANAMA678703624523568
PAPUA NEW GUINEA01002
PHILIPPINES1197116
PORTUGAL4235342956
QATAR05311
RUSSIAN FEDERATION10000
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES00131
SAMOA00100
SAUDI ARABIA20012
SINGAPORE289295238248255
SOUTH AFRICA00100
SPAIN21000
SRI LANKA10100
SWEDEN72678
SWITZERLAND11122
TAIWAN (PROVINCE OF CHINA)91010612
THAILAND661044
TURKEY31210
TUVALU12143
UNITED KINGDOM2218161721
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA20284
VANUATU43516
VIETNAM00211
Total:32223021282024052797

Table 6 - Deficiencies by category and ship type

Ship typeStructural / EquipmentOperationalHuman FactorISMMLCTotal deficiencies
Bulk carrier21535915882175534102
Chemical tanker307451561
Combination carrier520108
Container ship654192102481641160
Gas carrier43364460
General cargo/multi-purpose ship37211713046112777
Heavy load carrier14151021
Livestock carrier34691555
NLS tanker123001025
Offshore service vessel341691363
Oil tanker1071615321162
Oil tanker/chemical tanker782418222144
Other types of ship45371438107
Passenger ship461232515110
Refrigerated cargo vessel1113821751
Ro-ro cargo ship161271036
Special purpose ship8200414
Tugboat75291425125
Vehicle carrier14545491244295
Wood-chip carrier561611428115
Totals for 202339381144102135810307491
2023 category deficiency rates 1.40.40.40.10.42.7
Totals for 20223068100394029910066216
2022 category deficiency rates 1.20.40.40.10.42.6

Table 7 - Rate of deficiencies per inspection by category and ship type

 Structural / EquipmentOperationalHuman FactorISMMLCTotal inspectionsTotal DeficienciesDeficiency rateNumber of DetentionsDetention Rate
bulk carrier1.490.410.410.150.38144441022.84986.8%
chemical tanker0.480.110.060.080.2462610.9858.1%
combination carrier0.830.330.000.170.00681.3300.0%
container ship2.020.590.320.150.5132311603.59226.8%
gas carrier1.080.080.150.100.1040601.5037.5%
general cargo/multi-purpose ship1.440.450.500.180.432587773.013011.6%
heavy load carrier1.170.080.420.080.0012211.75216.7%
livestock carrier1.030.180.270.030.1533551.6713.0%
MODU or FPSO0.000.000.000.000.0010.000.0000.0%
NLS tanker0.860.210.000.000.7114251.7900.0%
offshore service vessel2.131.000.560.060.1916633.94212.5%
oil tanker1.010.150.140.030.201061621.5332.8%
oil tanker/chemical tanker0.700.210.160.020.201121441.2910.9%
other types of ship1.671.370.520.110.30271073.9600.0%
passenger ship0.850.220.590.090.28541102.0400.0%
refrigerated cargo vessel2.202.601.600.403.4055110.2000.0%
ro-ro cargo ship2.672.001.170.170.006366.00116.7%
special purpose ship2.670.670.000.001.333144.67133.3%
tugboat2.140.830.400.060.14351253.5712.9%
vehicle carrier0.750.230.250.060.231932951.5352.6%
wood-chip carrier1.190.340.230.090.60471152.4512.1%
Category deficiency Rate1.410.410.370.130.37279774912.681766.3%
Category deficiency count3938114410213581030 
  • Figures in bold are above average.
  • Figures in emphasis are the top five for each category

Table 8 - Change in deficiency rate per inspection by category only

Deficiency20222023Trend
Structure/equipment1.21.4
Operational0.40.4
Human factors0.40.4
ISM0.10.1
MLC0.40.4

Table 9 - Detainable deficiencies by deficiency type

Deficiency Type2022 Deficiency Count2022 Deficiency Share2023 Deficiency Count2023 Deficiency ShareTrend
ISM6429.1%7127.0 %
Fire safety3215.6%4015.2%
Water/weather-tight conditions146.4%3312.6%
Emergency systems2310.5%3011.4%
Lifesaving appliances209.1%259.5%
Pollution prevention – Annex I104.6%134.9%
Labour conditions167.3%114.2%
Pollution prevention – Annex IV83.6%103.8%
Structural conditions20.9%72.7%
Other125.5%62.3%
Propulsion and auxiliary machinery62.7%51.9%
Certificates and documentation20.9%51.9%
Radio communications31.4%31.1%
Safety of navigation31.4%20.8%
Cargo operations including equipment52.3%20.8% ↓

Table 10 - Top five detention rates by ship type in 2022 and 2023

 2022 – 6.0% % average (number of detentions)2023 – 6.3% average (number of detentions)
AMSA detained 176 ships in 2023, with an average detention rate of 6.3%.General cargo/multi-purpose ship – 11.9 % (21)Heavy load carrier – 16.7 % (2)
Container ship -Ship – 8.3% (25)Offshore service Vessel – 12.5% (2)
Wood-chip carrier -– 7.9% (5)General cargo/multi-purpose ship -– 11.6 % (30)
Bulk carrier -– 6.4% (76)Chemical tanker – 8.1% (5)
NLS Tanker – 5.3% (1)Gas carrier – 7.5% (3)

Table 11 – Detentions by ship type*

Category20232022
Ship typeInspectionsDetentionsDetention rateDetention rate
bulk carrier1,444986.8%6.4%
chemical tanker6258.1%2.4%
container ship323226.8%8.3%
gas carrier4037.5%0.0%
general cargo/multi-purpose ship2583011.6%11.9%
heavy load carrier12216.7%0%
livestock carrier3313.0%0%
NLS tanker1400.0%5.3%
offshore service vessel*16212.5%N/A*
oil tanker10632.8%2.3%
oil tanker/chemical tanker11210.9%4.5%
other types of ship2700.0%0%
passenger ship5400.0%0%
tugboat3512.9%3.6%
vehicle carrier19352.6%2.4%
wood-chip carrier4712.1%7.9%

* Ship types with less than 10 inspections are not counted in the detention rate performance assessment.

Table 12 - Flag States that exceeded the average in 2021, 2022 and 2023*

2021 (average 5.6%)2022 (average 6.0%) 2023 (average 6.3%)Detention rate (number)
Flag StateDetention rate (number)Flag StateDetention rate (number)Flag StateDetention rate (number)
Antigua and Barbuda11.1% (4)Antigua and Barbuda25% (8)Netherlands 15.8% (6)
Denmark10.0% (1)Cyprus9.8% (5)Antigua and Barbuda15.4% (8)
Taiwan (Province of China)10.0% (1)Netherlands9.5% (2)Korea (the Republic of)11.5% (3)
Thailand10.0% (1)Singapore7.7% (19)United Kingdom9.5% (2)
Portugal8.8% (3)Liberia7.0% (22) Cyprus8.6% (5)
Panama7.2% (45)Portugal6.9% (2)Taiwan (Province of China8.3% (1)
Greece7.1% (3)Panama6.5% (34)Panama7.7% (44)
Netherlands7.1% (1)  Liberia7.6% (34)
Liberia6.6% (25)  Greece7.3% (3)
Marshall Islands6.5% (28)    
 United Kingdom6.3% (1)    
Hong Kong, China5.9% (21)    

* flag States with less than 10 inspections are not counted in the detention rate performance assessment

Table 13 – Inspections and detentions by flag State in 2023

Flag StateInspectionsDetentionsDetention rate
Antigua and Barbuda52815.4 %
Bahamas10133.0 %
Bangladesh100.0 %
Barbados400.0 %
Belgium1000.0 %
Bermuda90 0.0 %
Cayman Islands1400.0 %
China5511.8 %
Cook Islands7114.3 %
Croatia100.0 %
Cyprus5858.6 %
Denmark1200.0 %
France300.0 %
Germany200.0 %
Gibraltar400.0 %
Greece4137.3 %
Hong Kong, China277134.7 %
India7114.3 %
Isle of Man3326.1 %
Italy1000.0 %
Jamaica20 0.0 %
Japan4800.0 %
Korea (the Republic of)26311.5 %
Kuwait200.0 %
Liberia446347.6 %
Luxembourg6116.7 %
Malaysia700.0 %
Malta13675.1 %
Marshall Islands349226.3 %
Montenegro2150.0%
Netherlands38615.8 %
New Zealand400.0 %
Norway7611.3 %
Palau200.0 %
Panama568447.7 %
Papua New Guinea2150.0%
Philippines600.0 %
Portugal5600.0 %
Qatar100.0 %
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines100.0 %
Saudi Arabia200.0 %
Singapore255135.1 %
Sweden8112.5 %
Switzerland2150.0 %
Taiwan (province of China)1218.3 %
Thailand400.0 %
Tuvalu300.0 %
United Kingdom2129.5 %
United States of America400.0 %
Vanuatu6116.7 %
Viet Nam100.0 %
Total:2,7971766.3 %

Note: flag States above the average detention rate with more than 10 inspections are provided in bold.

 

Table 14 – Ships issued with directions

Ship name (IMO number)FlagDirectionIssue dateExpiry
MSC Kymea II (IMO 9334844)LiberiaRefused access for three months27/02/202328/05/2023
Flevogracht (IMO 9509956)NetherlandsRefused access for three months18/03/202316/06/2023
Babuza Wisdom (IMO 9524815)PanamaRefused access for three months03/06/202301/09/2023
BBC Weser (IMO 9347047)Antigua and BarbudaRefused access for three months12/06/20239/09/2023
BBC Pearl (IMO 9504786Antigua and BarbudaRefused access for six months10/07/202305/01/2024
MSXT Emily (IMO 9929302)LiberiaRefused access for one year23/08/202322/08/2024
Big Lilly (IMO 9150406)Marshall IslandsRefused access for 90 days29/09/202329/12/2023
BBC Jade (IMO 9421116)Antigua and BarbudaRefused access for three months17/11/202315/02/2024
Cesi Qingdao (IMO 9672832)Hong KongRefused access for six months23/12/202320/06/2023

Table 15 – Poor performing operators

Company NameIMO Company NumberIssue date
Goldenking Ship Management Co Ltd57527249 November 2023
Klaveness Ship Management AS Limited56022159 November 2023
Trust Maritime Services Private Limited968706929 August 2023
V.Ships Greece Limited142546412 July 2023
Briese Heavylift GmbH & Co KG602504514 April 2023
Marine Ace Company Limited133392424 March 2023
First Marine Service Company Limited052324924 March 2023
Asia Maritime Pacific (Shanghai) Limited563688330 January 2023
MSC Shipmanagement Limited153594730 January 2023
Chugoku Sougyo Company Limited072419223 January 2023
COSCO Wallen Ship Management Company Limited51774916 January 2023
Marmaras Navigation Limited00677616 January 2023
TW Ship Management Private Limited59107706 January 2023

Table 16 - Recognised Organisation Performance

Recognised OrganisationPSC inspectionDeficienciesDetentionsDetention rateDetainable deficienciesRO responsible detainable deficienciesRO responsible as share of all detainable deficiencies
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)381827195.0%2913.4%
Bureau Veritas (BV)257857207.8%2613.8%
China Classification
Society (CCS)
15938485.0%1300.0%
CR Classification 
Society (CCRS)
141117.1%100.0%
Croatian Register of Shipping (CRS)51200.0%000.0%
DNV (formerly DNVGL) 14881,249306.1%44410%
Indian Register of Shipping (IRS)3800.0%000.0%
Korea Classification Society (KCS)1000.0%000.0%
Korean Register of Shipping (KRS)11844686.8%1417.1%
Lloyd's Register (LR)3651,025267.1%3500.0%
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK)9062,271535.8%70710.0%
RINA Services SpA (RINA)893271011.2%26311.5%
No class117419.1%500.0%
Totals:2,7977,4911766.3%263176.5%

1 Note: the results for DNVGL and DNV have been merged after DNV changed their name.