[imText1]It has been revealed that every port throughout the world is in on the watch for North Korean vessels as investigations are currently under way by the Port State Control’s (PSC) who classified them on the “blacklist.”

The PSC working in collaboration with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) investigates the condition and equipment of foreign vessels entering each nation’s harbor ports. There is a high possibility that North Korean shipping vessels will be regulated, as most of the ships are old. If a ship is considered unsatisfactory, its departure may be delayed until repairs and custody is complete.

The Korean Maritime Institute recently analyzed information from the PSC regarding the results of a North Korean cargo ship Kangnam 1 in Hong Kong which stated that last year, 750 North Korean vessels in operation were investigated by the PSC of which 659 vessels were discovered to be deficient, equating to 86% of the vessels unsatisfactory.

In addition, 171 ships received port embargos and now North Korea is has been placed on the official blacklist. In particular, of the 4 regions the PSC has main offices, a total of 65 vessels are being detained in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. This is 4 times greater than the average.

46 vessels are being detained in Europe, 42 in the Black Sea and 18 in the Indian Ocean. As for the total number of incidents ships were detained, the highest was in Asia and the Pacific Ocean region with 313 vessels, followed by 174 vessels in the Black Sea, 137 in Europe and 35 vessels in the Indian Ocean.

According to figures updated late 2005, North Korea possesses a total of 284 vessels (exceeding 1,000GT) of which the age of the ships average 25 years hence being rather older ships and it has been known that the PSC frequently criticizes and often detains the ships from departure.

According to the PSC, North Korean ships are known to have no documentation records or structure in addition to security checks being fragmented.

The KMI says that “In future, it appears that North Korean ships will continue to receive scrutinized investigations” and explained “North Korean ships will receive acute control from the PSC not only because it is now on the blacklist, but because of the passing of the North Korea sanctions by the U.N. arising from North Korea’s nuclear experiments.”

In another perspective the U.S. CIA stipulates that only 284 ships exceeding 1,000 tons have been registered by North Korea of which the majority 222 vessels are general cargo ships and only 3 ships which are container vessels.