THE Vanuatu Shipping Register is not aware of any Asian port using port state control for political purposes, says the registry chairman Thomas Bayer. Mr Bayer said port state control could be misused if two countries had a political falling out, as the vessels of one country could be detained by another country as a result. ''The Vanuatu register submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in May encouraging the industry to adopt a more uniform standard of port state control to prevent abuse of powers by any nation,'' Mr Bayer said. The advantage of using an open registry such as the Vanuatu register was that it was easier to operate ships with qualified people, without the restrictions of using a particular nationality of officers or crew, he said. The Vanuatu register, operated by Vanuatu Maritime Services, was seeking new registrants but would not compromise on vessel or crew quality standards, he said. ''We want everyone on the registry to realise that we will only welcome good and well-maintained fleets and do not want to be bugged with ships of doubtful standards,'' he said. Mr Bayer said the shipping industry was seeing increasing pressure against ships that did not conform to quality standards in reaction to a big increase in accidents in 1990 and 1991. Shipowners whose vessels were poorly maintained would face heavy losses, especially if their ships were subjected to port state control inspections and were delayed, he said. A huge vessel, which can cost between US$30,000 and $40,000 a day to operate, could suffer enormous losses if it was stuck in port for a couple of days, he said. The register had set up a data bank and an office in Hong Kong to provide better service than its competitors, he said. Mr Bayer said when world economies were depressed, shipowners would tend to save on maintenance and safety equipment. Standards were not necessarily being followed and that was why port states had to have their own inspections, he said. Vanuatu's Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs in Hong Kong, John Challen , said ship owners in the Far East who registered vessels under the Vanuatu flag would have the advantage of services provided by the office in the territory. He said that in the past Asian vessels had faced problems employing mixed-nationality crew, and with mortgage arrangements, but the Vanuatu register offered these services. According to figures provided by the registry, Vanuatu was second only to the UK registry, excluding dependent territories, in a 1991 comparison of vessel deficiencies on registries of selected countries. The UK registry had the lowest percentage of 27.21 per cent of vessels with deficiencies, followed by Vanuatu which had 41.07 per cent, the United States 42.88 per cent, Norway 46.88 per cent, Liberia 50.08 per cent, Bahamas 50.38 per cent, Cyprus 54.17 per cent, Philippines 57.89 per cent, Panama 58.43 per cent, Malta 60.08 per cent, Honduras 62.44 per cent, St Vincent & the Grenadines 63.52 per cent and Canada 66.67 per cent.
