PSC action taken codes: what 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 30 mean
Every line on a PSC inspection report (Form B) carries two numbers. The five-digit one is the deficiency code: what was found. The two-digit one next to it is the action taken code: what the officer wants done about it and by when. The second number decides your week, so it's the one to read first.
The codes below are the ones you will meet on most reports. The MoUs share them, though each regime's list has a few more for informing the next port, the flag State or the classification society. If a code on your report isn't here, look it up in your MoU's current list.
The common codes
- 10: Deficiency rectified. Fixed during the inspection, before the officer left. Nothing to chase, but keep the evidence (a photo, a work order, the updated record) with the report. The deficiency still counts in the ship's history.
- 15: Rectify at next port. The officer accepts that the fix needs the next port: a spare part, a service technician. The next port's authority may check it.
- 16: Rectify within 14 days. The clock starts on the inspection day. Plan the repair or service now and send the evidence to whoever asks for it.
- 17: Rectify before departure. The master is instructed to fix it before the ship sails. In practice this is the busiest code: the work has to be done, and often shown to the officer, while the ship is still alongside.
- 18: Rectify non-conformity within 3 months. Used for ISM non-conformities. The company is expected to investigate, correct and verify within three months, usually through its own procedure and an audit.
- 19: Rectify major non-conformity before departure. An ISM failure serious enough that the ship can't sail until it's addressed, normally with an additional audit by the flag or the RO acting for it.
- 30: Ground for detention. The deficiency alone, or together with others, is serious enough to detain the ship. It sails only after the deficiencies are fixed to the officer's satisfaction or an arrangement (for example a repair port) is agreed. See what to do after a detention.
- 99: Other. The officer writes the action in plain words. Read the text: it can be lighter or heavier than any of the codes above.
Due dates in practice
When you track deficiencies in the office, turn each code into a date the moment the report arrives:
- 17, 19 and 30: the inspection day. The ship can't leave until these are dealt with, so treat them as already due.
- 16: inspection day plus 14 days.
- 18: inspection day plus three months.
- 15: the next port's arrival date, which you know better than any form does.
- 10: no date, but file the evidence.
Write who is responsible and what evidence will close each line. A list of open deficiencies with owners and dates is also what a vetting inspector or a charterer will ask for later.
RO responsibility
Some reports mark a deficiency as related to the recognized organization (the class society doing statutory work for the flag). That marking concerns the RO's performance record, not the action code. The ship still has to rectify the item within the time the action code gives. The MoUs publish criteria for when a deficiency is RO related.
How codes affect the ship's record
Every deficiency counts, rectified or not. The number of deficiencies and detentions in the last 36 months feeds the ship's risk profile, which decides how often the ship is selected for inspection in the Paris and Tokyo MoU regions. The ship risk profile guide explains how. Rectifying on the spot (code 10) doesn't remove a deficiency from the history, but it does keep it from turning into a detention.