Letter to the Editor . . . Letter to the Editor

As head of the Belgian PSC division since 1998, I can only regret that you publish some wild accusations without verification of the facts.

It is true that until 2003 we had a PSC officer with a drinking problem in our department but that does not automatically mean that he was incompetent or pressed the ship’s staff for alcohol in return for not listing imaginary deficiencies. On the contrary, he was one of the best experts who ever worked for us.

We checked our PSC records as far back as 1998 but we cannot find a PSC inspection with 147 deficiencies. The detention with the highest number of deficiencies ever was one with 139 deficiencies in the year 2000 and I can assure you that it was a textbook example of a detention.

If we are talking about the same vessel and if the owner of that vessel agrees, I would not mind to go public with all the nasty details on the detention of that really substandard vessel. Our PSC officer with the drinking problem was involved in the inspection of that ship, but on such a serious detention we are always working with a PSC-team and it remains the decision of the head of the PSC division whether or not to detain.

Furthermore, if a vessel is wrongfully delayed or detained, the owner always has the possibility and he should not hesitate to make an appeal. The “Board for Maritime Investigations” of the Ministry of Justice, assisted by independent experts, stands guarantee for an impartial investigation.

If the owner really had some wellfounded reasons to complain, then why did he not take any legal action instead of spreading, years after the facts, some false accusations?

Capt. P. Janssen Advisor – Chief Maritime Inspector Head Belgian Port State Control Division FPS Mobility and Transport