Detention following a failed Port State Control must be one of the most undesirable experiences for a ship owner or operator. Holding a ship in port means higher port fees, missed schedules and the unscheduled repair always ends up costing more than the scheduled one. It is certainly something to be avoided and GL’s periodical publication analysing PSC data from around the world is a useful pointer to the items most frequently failing. Within category number two on the list is “Engines, generators and auxiliaries” of which main engines formed 12 per cent of the defects, generators 15 per cent, cleanliness 17 per cent and ‘others’ the balance. [More]