DIVE INTO THE NEW AGE
OF ACCELERATED ANALYTICS
Digital Transformation
Digital Risk: Cyber Threats
Regulatory Compliance
Data Analytics & Intelligence
The Inspector is Coming
Is Your Vessel Ready?
Port State Control inspections are no longer routine "tick box" exercises.
With the advent of predictive data tools and tightening international standards, PSC officers are boarding vessels with intent.
Below is what that means for your fleet – how smart technology is changing the compliance equation. Each and every port call raises a question no ship owner can afford to answer: will today be the day we get detained? Detention rates in the Tokyo MOU region (which includes Australia and the Asia Pacific) have remained above industry targets for three consecutive years.
As a frontline enforcer, AMSA (Australia’s Maritime Safety Authority), uses inspection data which is anything but forgiving.
The intelligence behind the clipboard has changed; PSC officers now walk the gangway with vessel performance histories, deficiency trending data and flag-state risk scores loaded and cross-referenced before they set foot on deck.
Those old days of hoping a clean engine room would carry the day are behind us.
34%
5
ISM
Deficiencies on safety & fire appliances in AU inspections
Steps in a Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) methodology
Code risk assessment now the primary PSC inspection lens
Information regarding remote survey requests for ships detained in Australia:
Remote surveys are not equivalent to a physical survey.
As a result, we will no longer accept any remote survey from an RO for a ship detained in Australia.
Source : AMSA website (1 February 2024)
What PSC Officers Are Actually Looking For
The International Safety Management (ISM) Code made risk identification central to vessel compliance.
In practice, this means the PSC Inspector is assessing how well your crew understand the risk, has identified the appropriate controls to mitigate it, and has practised their emergency responses.
Data from AMSA show that many vessels fail inspection in areas such as Safety and Fire Appliances, Quality of ISM Implementation and Familiarisation with Systems. All three areas are key to compliance. Yet time and again, vessels are found to be underprepared for an inspection, often due to a lack of a structured, objective review prior to the inspection.
The next frontier in PSC compliance isn't just better checklists — it's predictive analytics and digital workflow integration.
Port authorities and classification societies are already piloting AI-assisted risk-profiling tools that flag vessels for targeted inspections based on operational data patterns.
Ships that have embraced digital transformation — real-time deficiency tracking, digital ISM documentation, data-driven maintenance scheduling — are entering this new environment with a clear advantage.
At WMS , we apply the same Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) framework used by the IMO to produce an impartial, structured risk profile of your vessel before a PSC officer arrives. Our methodology follows the five-step FSA process: hazard identification, risk analysis, risk control options, cost-benefit assessment, and recommendations for decision-making.
​
The goal isn't to paper over cracks — it's to give your team an honest, benchmarked view of where you stand, what the likely inspection focus areas will be, and the concrete steps needed to close gaps before they become deficiencies.
​
"Risk assessment isn't a checkbox — it's a continuous, data-driven posture. The ships getting detained aren't always the worst-maintained; they're often just the least prepared."