Black Sea Annual Report 2023

The Black Sea MoU presented the twenty-third issue of the Annual Report on Port State Control in the Black Sea region which is published under the auspices of the Port State Control Committee of the Black Sea MoU.

 

This PSC Annual Report covers the period between 1st January and 31st December 2023. During the year the armed conflict persisted between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, presenting a serious and immediate threat to the safety and security of crews and vessels operating in the region, and not boding well with the BS MoU’s objectives.

 

In 2023, although the number of inspections closely aligns with the five-year average recorded during the pre-Covid period from 2015 to 2019 (5,258), the number of inspections of Ukraine significantly dropped by 45.5 per cent compared with the pre-war five-year period.

 

During 2023, 5,294 inspections involving 3,541 individual ships were carried out on ships registered in the Black Sea Region, Black Sea MoU Annual PSC Report informs.

 

Black Sea Grain Initiative and its impact

Although grain shipments from Ukraine resumed in 2022 thanks to the Black Sea Grain Initiative , signed by the Republic of Türkiye, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the United Nations on 22 July 2022, the Initiative was terminated on 17 July 2023. After the termination of the Initiative, the number of inspections of Ukraine also decreased by 21.1 per cent.

 

Inspection rate and ship data

The exact number of individual ships operating in the region was unavailable due to the war in Ukraine, and it was estimated as 5,617*. The inspection rate in the region was approximately 63.04% in 2023. The number of individual ships inspected in 2023 (3,541) is slightly more than the number of individual ships inspected in 2022 (3,501). Out of 5,294 inspections in 2023, 3,204 were found with deficiencies. The percentage of inspections with deficiencies in 2023 (60.53%) is nearly similar to 2022 (59.96%).

 

Detentions due to deficiencies

In 2023, the number of ships detained as a result of deficiencies clearly hazardous to safety, health, or the environment amounted to 208. These detained vessels were registered by 27 different Flag Administrations. The overall detention percentage in the region (Detentions as a per cent of inspections) in 2023 continues its upward trend, from 3.50% in 2022 to 3.93%. Since several individual ships were inspected and detained more than once during any one year, the regional detention rate (Individual ships detained as a per cent of individual ships inspected) in 2023 was 5.20%, which is higher than the detention percentage. The regional detention rate in 2023 was also higher than the 2022 detention rate of 4.63%.

 

Refer to the attached report for additional information.

 

Source Black MoU.