On August 19, the Ship Safety Inspection Working Group of Tianjin Maritime Bureau was officially put into operation. Staffed with dedicated personnel, it carries out concentrated inspection work covering the northern and southern zones.

It is neither a major incident nor a trivial matter, yet it has sent ripples across the ship-safety-inspection community.

Industry insiders comment: Port State Control (PSC) inspections in Tianjin have shifted back from a decentralized model to a centralized one.

That single word "back" tells a story.

Tianjin Maritime Bureau pioneered China’s PSC practice, tracing its origins back to Mr. Zhong Boyuan.

In 1984, Tianjin Maritime Bureau took the lead in conducting PSC inspections on ocean‑going vessels, the very first of its kind nationwide. Back then, few people were familiar with SOLAS and MARPOL conventions. Thanks to Mr. Zhong Boyuan’s solid English proficiency and international vision, he led a team aboard ships with convention texts in hand, communicating with masters in English, and ushered in the dawn of Port State Control in China.

In 2006, Tianjin set up a full-time Port State Control team. It was a centralized, formally-established and well-organized unit. Its personnel focused exclusively on PSC work: climbing into engine rooms, squeezing into steering-gear compartments and inspecting lifeboats. Day in and day out, they honed their expertise. Back then, the team was reputed within the maritime system as both the “Huangpu Military Academy” and the top-tier powerhouse for PSC practice.

What happened next?

Institutional restructuring followed, and the team was disbanded. Inspection authority was devolved to grassroots maritime bureaus and maritime law-enforcement detachments. PSC was no longer a full-time function and became part‑time work. Inspectors would examine foreign-flagged ships one day, conduct on-site supervision the next, and handle penalty cases the day after. Spread far too thin, no one could dive deep into PSC specialization.

This was not unique to Tianjin. Ports across the country, including Shanghai, faced much the same situation.

Yet some units have kept their dedicated teams intact.

Back in 2001, Ningbo established a ship-safety inspection station, an elite unit of seven inspectors, later renamed the PSC Workshop. More than 20 years on, several batches of staff have come and gone, yet the team has remained centralized with full-time PSC responsibilities throughout.

Guangzhou also had an early ship-safety inspection station which was later disbanded. It then launched a mobile PSC workstation where inspectors from across the province take turns to join on-the-job training. Talents are pooled together to deliver robust inspection capacity.

Rizhao runs a ship-safety inspection station, home to the “Ying Qibo Liquid-Cargo-Ship Inspection Innovation Workshop”, where one leading expert has built up a capable team.

Zhoushan set up the “Zhoudun” Workshop, with 23 core inspectors under intensive centralized management under the framework of “One Center and Three Bases”, clearly operating far beyond a loose ad-hoc group.

Liaoning took a more straightforward approach. It issued the Three‑Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Ship Safety Inspection (2025-2027) in 2025, explicitly committing to building up its PSC workforce.

As can be seen, formerly decentralized teams are shifting back toward centralization, while those that stayed centralized are moving toward deeper specialization - different paths converging toward the same goal.

Why has the industry circled back to this model?

Decentralization had its merits. Inspectors stationed at the front-line stay close to vessels, respond rapidly, and possess thorough knowledge of local conditions. Each maritime office knows its jurisdiction well: which vessels call frequently and which companies have recurring deficiencies.

Still, decentralization brought notable drawbacks.

First, inconsistent standards. One PSCO may deem a deficiency warranting detention, while another may require only rectification. The same vessel may clear inspection at Port A under one maritime bureau yet get detained at Port B. This triggers complaints from ship-owners and creates awkward situations for maritime authorities themselves.

Second, eroding professional proficiency. PSC skills fade without regular practice. Part-time inspectors alternate between examining foreign-flagged ships, implementing merchant-fishery coordination campaigns, and drafting administrative documents. They struggle to keep convention provisions memorized and maritime English terminology fluent, leading to uncertainty when boarding vessels.

Third, poor talent retention. Experienced, fully-competent PSCOs are frequently reassigned, rotated to other posts, or promoted. Without structured talent pipelines, skill gaps become commonplace.

Fourth, insufficient technical research. Conventions are amended annually, new rules are released on a regular basis, and novel ship types and technologies keep emerging. Burdened by routine inspection workloads, decentralized inspectors have little time for in-depth research.

Centralization changes this dynamic. With personnel working together, standards can be aligned, expertise passed down, technical issues discussed, and new inspectors mentored. A working group of mixed-age inspectors enables mutual review and cross-checking during inspections, delivering reliable quality comparable to ISO-level standards.

Essentially, PSC is both technically demanding and physically intensive. PSC officers constitute a workforce capable of exercising technical oversight and restraint over classification societies.

Technical competence relies on dedicated staff, sustained focus and accumulated experience. Fragmented arrangements will gradually erode such capabilities.

What Does Centralization Mean for Ship-owners?

It means the easy days are over.

Under the former decentralized model, inspection stringency varied widely across ports. Some ports carried out thorough examinations while others performed perfunctory checks. Ship‑owners could port‑hop, take chances, or build casual familiarity with officers at a local maritime office.

Those days are gone!

Centralized teams apply unified standards and consistent discretion with high professionalism. Deficiencies identified in Tianjin’s southern inspection zone will equally be spotted in its northern zone. Deficiencies flagged in Ningbo may also be detected in Guangzhou.

Furthermore, centralization frees inspection teams to conduct research, data analysis and risk prediction. Data can clearly reveal which flag States have persistent issues, which ship types suffer clustered deficiencies, and which companies have poor management. Your vessel may already be flagged for targeted scrutiny before it arrives at port.

This is no idle warning; it is an industry trend.

Here are practical recommendations for ship‑owners:

First, abandon the mindset of merely getting through inspections. Centralized inspectors are full-time specialists focused on PSC work day-in and day-out. Short-cut tricks will not work. Age-old defects such as ageing fire hoses, difficult lifeboat starting, and oily-water separator by-passing will be reliably identified. Diligent and genuine maintenance beats any workaround.

Second, take crew practical proficiency seriously. PSC places growing emphasis on operational inspections. Fire drills, abandon-ship drills, emergency steering tests and machinery-damage emergency repairs are assessed by actual performance rather than paperwork. Panicked and incompetent crew performance can lead directly to detention. Ship-owners should not cut corners; proper crew training is mandatory.

Third, ensure the Safety-Management System (SMS) is genuinely implemented. Many companies maintain polished SMS documentation on file yet implement it loosely. Experienced centralized inspectors can distinguish genuine implementation from paper compliance simply by reviewing records and interviewing crew.

Fourth, keep a close watch on CIC campaigns. The Tokyo‑MOU conducts annual Concentrated Inspection Campaigns (CIC). This year’s theme is cargo securing, commencing on 1 September. All inspected vessels must complete an additional questionnaire for this targeted campaign, with no way to opt out. Conduct self‑inspections against the questionnaire in advance to avoid detention. (Review: 2026 Cargo-Securing CIC - What will PSC inspect? Four major features, five high-risk areas, and 37 detention cases, each representing costly real-world lessons.)

Fifth, do not over-rely on classification societies. A classification‑society certificate does not guarantee trouble-free PSC clearance. PSC assesses actual on-board conditions, not certificates. Equipment can fail shortly after annual surveys. (Review: How do PSCOs hold Recognized Organizations (ROs) accountable? What is the scope of RO accountability?)

Classification societies should also take note. A widely‑held industry view is that an experienced senior PSCO is expected to exercise accountability over Recognized Organizations. With the dedicated PSC working groups now established, such accountability reviews are very likely to be put firmly on the agenda.

Over the past four decades, China’s PSC has grown from scratch, evolved from centralization to decentralization, and circled back to centralization once again.

This is not arbitrary administrative tinkering; it follows an inherent rule: specialized work ought to be undertaken by specialized, dedicated personnel working as a cohesive team.

Ship-owners should not complain about stricter inspections. Rigorous inspections benefit those who manage their vessels conscientiously. A fair market can only be achieved when everyone plays by the rules. Operators who scrape by on lowered standards and cost-cutting shortcuts will be eliminated sooner or later.

The sea remains the same, and so do the ships. Regulations are becoming clearer, and inspectors more professional.

Those who comply will thrive; those who do not will face detention and Code-17 deficiencies.

------------------------------------------Reprinted from PSCReady