3. The vessel must have completed a successful, U.S. Port State Control examination within 12 months of eligibility determination. A Port State Control examination is defined as a boarding of a non-U.S. flagged vessel for the purpose of assessing a vessel's compliance with the relevant provisions of applicable international conventions, domestic laws and regulations, with a scope to the extent necessary to verify that no unsafe conditions exist. The tern successful means that the vessel did not leave port with any serious, outstanding deficiencies (e.g., are considered such a serious nature that they may warrant the detention of the vessel);
4. The vessel may not be owned or operated by any company that has been associated with a substandard vessel detention in U.S. waters within 24 months. A vessel is considered to be owned or operated by a company, if that company has been issued a U.S. Certificate of Financial Responsibility as the responsible operator of the vessel, and/or is listed on the vessel's certificate of registry, and/or is the company responsible for the safe operation of the vessel as indicated on the vessel's Safety Management Certificate;
5. The vessel may not be classed by, nor have their statutory Convention Certificates issued by, a targeted class society. A class society is targeted if points are assigned to them in the PSC targeting matrix (refer to http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/psc/miscpages/classpg.htm for details on the class societies that meet this criterion);
6. The vessel may not be registered with a Flag State that has a detention ratio more than 1/3 of the overall U.S. detention ratio, determined on a 3-year rolling average, and the Flag State must have at least 10 distinct vessel arrivals in each of the last three years (refer to Table 2 of the Coast Guard's 1999 Annual Port State Control report, at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/psc/miscpages/annualrpt99.doc for details on the Flag States that meet this criterion);
7. The vessel's Flag State must submit their Self-Assessment of Flag State Performance to the IMO, and provide a copy to the Coast Guard; and
8. Though not specifically mentioned in the above criteria, the Coast Guard reserves the right to restrict eligibility in the Qualship 21 initiative to any vessel because of special circumstances, including, but not limited to, significant overseas casualties or detentions, and pending criminal or civil investigations.
What incentives will Qualship 21 vessels receive?
To encourage quality vessel operations, all Qualship 21 designated vessels will receive a Qualship 21 Certificate, issued by the Office of Compliance (G-MOC) staff. This certificate will have a maximum 2-year period of validity, which will correspond with the date of the COTP's last "annual" Port State Control exam of the vessel. For example, an eligible freight ship that completed a successful annual freight ship exam on 25 - September 2000 will receive a Qualship 21 Certificate from G-MOC that expires on 24 September 2002. Additionally, Qualship 21 vessels will have their names posted on the Qualship 21 page of the headquarters Port State Control internet web site.
