We work hard every day to achieve our legislative goal of “zero spills.” Our vessel inspectors are professional mariners with extensive experience in ship operations and regulatory requirements. They board vessels and email to identify issues and share best practices to enhance oil spill prevention and improve maritime safety. Their work ensures that vessels in Washington waters are operating safely.
Vessel inspections reduce the risk of spills to state waters
We conduct inspections according to our substantial risk rule for cargo and passenger vessels. These are the regulations that implement our substantial risk inspection program. Our vessel boarding program:
- Protects the state's resources.
- Provides for safe marine transportation in state waters.
- Determines whether ships operating in state waters pose a substantial risk of harm to the environment or the public.
Vessels that we inspect
We board cargo vessels greater than 300 gross tons. Our priority is to board the vessels that we have ranked as higher risk. We assign vessels with a risk score based on their age, inspection history, past incidents, and spill history. This risk score combined with other factors, such as whether we’ve inspected them before, helps determine if we will board a vessel.
We don’t inspect tank vessels for substantial risk. However, tank vessels are invited to join Washington state’s voluntary Exceptional Compliance Program.
What to expect when we inspect your vessel
Working jointly with industry, we developed Accepted Industry Standards for cargo and passenger vessels and for fishing vessels. These standards are based on international conventions and federal regulations. We conduct inspections to determine whether ships operating in state waters meet these standards. These checklists can help vessel operators prepare for inspection:
We always try to time boardings to accommodate the vessel and crew’s schedule. If our inspection interferes with the vessel’s schedule or the crew’s work hour/ rest hour schedule, our inspector will postpone the inspection and provide educational oil spill prevention information.
During a substantial risk inspection, we are able to use our Cargo and Passenger vessel checklist to engage meaningfully with vessel crews to discuss the operating company’s safety management system as it relates to marine safety and pollution prevention. Comparing a company’s policies and procedures with our Accepted Industry Standards, inspectors and vessel crew members can identify opportunities to increase marine safety and prevent oil spills.
By supplying vessels with educational materials and training aids, we help improve vessel crew’s knowledge of spill prevention. Additionally, we send vessel operating companies a copy of the inspection checklist, educational materials, and any recommendations the inspector has for enhancing vessel safety and decreasing the risk of an oil spill in Washington waters. When companies implement these recommendations, marine safety is enhanced across the entire fleet.
Educational materials and training aids
All information may be downloaded and used for training or safety lessons. This information will help masters and crews reduce vessel incidents.