Founded in the 1790's as part of the Department of Treasury, the United States Coast Guard is now part of the Department of Transportation, protecting U.S. interests at home and around the world. In peacetime and during war, the Coast Guard is at work around the clock, 365 days a year, patrolling shores, saving lives, protecting property and enhancing the flow of commerce. From helping the victims of floods and storms, to keeping millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs from flooding American communities, to teaching boating safety and cleaning up oil spills, the Coast Guard is, like its motto, Semper Paratus, Always Ready

Only in the most extreme or obvious cases did the U.S. Coast Guard intervene under the international conventions (e.g. SOLAS, MARPOL, Load line) to detain non-U.S. ships. The situation has changed radically.
Today non-U.S. flag vessels carry more than 90% of the international commercial freight arriving or departing the United States. Over 8000 non-U.S. ships from more than 100 countries arrive in the U.S. every year. Ninety-five percent of all passenger ships and 75% of all cargo ships (including tankers) entering the country are flagged by other countries than the U.S.

In 1994, the U.S. Congress recognized that within the greater influx of non-U.S. ships there undoubtedly existed a number of substandard vessels which posed an unacceptable threat to the safety of ports, waterways, and marine environment of the country. Accordingly, the Congress directed the Coast Guard to develop a program to eliminate substandard vessels from the nation's waters, and to submit annual reports on the status of this newly mandated program.

U.S. Coast Guard's Boarding Priority Matrix

In developing its risk assessment methodology, the Coast Guard first recognized that three entities directly influence a vessel's operational condition and compliance with international safety and environmental protection standards. These entities are: 1) owner and operators list, 2) classification societies, and 3) flag states. If any of these entities fails to fully undertake its responsibilities for a ship's safe operation, then the ship is likely to be considered a substandard vessel by the U.S.Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard's previous experience with a particular ship provides another indication of whether or not that vessel poses an unacceptable risk. In addition, certain types of ships pose a higher risk to themselves and the cargo they transport. These vessel types include: oil and chemical tankers, gas carriers, passenger ships, bulk freighters more than ten years old, and any vessel carrying low value commodities in bulk
The boarding priority matrix enables the Coast Guard to rationally and systematically determine the probable risk posed by non-U.S. ships calling at U.S. ports. The Matrix is used to decide which ships Port State Control Officers should board on any given day, in any given port. Points are assessed in each of the five columns and then summed for a total point score. This numerical score, along with other performance based factors, determines a ship's boarding priority. The following summarizes the priority categories and associated operational restrictions which may be imposed on ships by U.S. Coast Guard Captains of the Port

PORT STATE CONTROL OWNER & OPERATOR LIST

The following is the U.S. Coast Guard's compilation of vessel owners and operators which have been associated with more than one detention under the authority of an international convention by the Coast Guard within the past twelve months. Placement on this list does not imply that all ships associated with the owner or operator are substandard.
The purpose of the enclosed information, compiled under the authority of Titles 14, 33, and 46, United States Code, is to aid the Coast Guard in carrying out its port State responsibilities. The goal of the Port State Control Initiative is to identify substandard foreign flag vessels through boardings and examinations, and then to take the appropriate action to eliminate the threat that such vessels may pose to U.S. waters, ports, and citizens.
The Coast Guard's program is designed to effectively direct its vessel inspection resources to those vessels which may pose greater risks. As a result, a vessel making a U.S. port call that is owned or operated by a person or entity that has had that vessel, or a different vessel, subject to more than one intervention action within the last twelve months is a higher priority for a Coast Guard port State control boarding. However, the owner/operator is only one of several factors considered by the U.S. Coast Guard in deciding whether to actually board and inspect a vessel.
The Owners List is updated monthly. The revised version of the Owner's List is sent to all Coast Guard Marine Safety Offices

Classification Society Targeting Methodology

Classification Societies are evaluated on their performance over the previous three years. Classification Societies with less than ten distinct arrivals in the previous year are filtered out. If they have been associated with any detentions in the previous three years they receive priority 1 status. If they have not been associated with any detentions in the previous three years they receive zero points.
Classification Societies with more than ten distinct arrivals in the previous year are evaluated on their performance over the previous three years. Their performance is based on their detention ratio (number of detentions divided by the number of distinct arrivals). This ratio is then compared to the average detention ratio (total number of detentions divided by the total number of distinct arrivals). These Classification Societies are then assigned points according to where their detention ratios fall in relation to the average detention ratio.

Boarding Priority Matrix

Owners

• 5Points : Listed owner or operator

Flag

• 7Points : Listed Flag State

Class

• Priority 1 : A detention ratio equal to or greater than 2%
• 5 Points : A detention ratio equal to 1% or less than 2%
• 3 Points : A detention ratio equal to 0.5% or less than 1%
• 0 Point : A detention ratio less than 0.5%

History

• 5points Ea. : Detention within the previous 12 months
• 1points Ea. : Detention within the previous 12 months
• 1points Ea. : Other operational control within the previous 12 months
• 1points Ea. : Casualty within the previous 12 months
• 1points Ea. : Violation within the previous 12 months
• 1points Ea. : Not boarded within the previous 12 months

Ship type

• 1 point : Oil or Chemical Tanker
• 1 Point : Gas carrier
• 2 Points : Bulk freight over 10 years old
• 1 Point ; Passenger Ship
• 1 point : Carrying low value commodities in bulk

Priority I vessels

• 17 or more points on the Matrix, or
• ships involved in a marine casualty that may have affected seaworthiness, or
• USCG Captain of the Port determines a vessel to be a potential hazard to the port or the environment
• ships whose classification society has ten or more arrivals the previous year and a detention ratio more than four times the average, or
• ships whose classification society has less than ten arrivals the previous year and have been associated with at least one detention.

Port entry may be restricted until vessel is examined by the Coast Guard.

Priority II vessels

• 7 to 16 points on the Matrix, or
• outstanding requirements from a previous boarding in this or another U.S. port, or the vessel is overdue for an annual tank or passenger exam

Cargo operations may be restricted until vessel is examined by the Coast Guard

Priority III vessels

• 4 to 6 points on the Matrix, or
• alleged deficiencies reported, or
• the vessel is overdue for an annual freight examination, or quarterly passenger vessel re-exam

No operational restrictions imposed; vessel will most likely be examined at dock

Priority IV vessels

• 3 or fewer points on the Matrix

Vessel is a low risk, and will probably not be boarded

• Coast Guard efforts to eliminate substandard shipping have focused on improving methods to identify poor-quality vessels (targeting schemes). However, regardless of the score that a vessel receives in our targeting matrix, all foreign-flagged vessels are examined no less than once each year. This provides few incentives for the well run, quality ship. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of vessels are operated responsibly, and are typically found with few or no deficiencies. Under our current policies, these vessels are boarded at similar intervals as vessels that aren't operated responsibly. These quality vessels should be recognized and rewarded for their commitment to safety and quality. Therefore, on January 1, 2001, the Coast Guard will implement an initiative to identify high-quality ships, and provide incentives to encourage quality operations. This initiative is called Qualship 21, quality shipping for the 21st century.