The following is the U.S. Coast Guard's list of ship managers (owners, operators and charterers) which have been associated with two or more safety detentions within the past twelve months. Placement on this list does not imply that all ships associated with the owner or operator are substandard.

The purpose of the enclosed information is to aid the Coast Guard in carrying out its port State responsibilities. The goal of the Port State Control Initiative is to identify substandard foreign flag vessels through boardings and examinations, and then to take the appropriate action to eliminate the threat that such vessels may pose to U.S. waters, ports, and citizens.

The Coast Guard's Port State Control examination program is designed to effectively direct its vessel inspection resources to those vessels which may pose greater risks. As a result, a vessel making a U.S. port call that is owned, operated or chartered by a person or entity that has had that vessel, or a different vessel, subject to more than one intervention action within the last twelve months is a higher priority for a Coast Guard Port State Control examination. However, the ship management is only one of several factors considered by the U.S. Coast Guard in deciding whether to actually examine a vessel.

Be advised that the Ship Management List is updated monthly. The revised version of the Ship Management List is sent to all Coast Guard Sectors and Port State Control Officers.

Charterers have been targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard since July 1, 2004. Background on the collection of charterer information and targeting can be found in a Final Rule published on August 19, 2002 under the Advanced Notice of Arrival Regulations in 33 CFR 160 [USCG-2001-8659]. The Coast Guard's goal is to target the individual or organization that contracts for the majority of the vessel's cargo carrying capacity. The chartering entity that contracts for the majority of cargo space has control over vessel selection and, therefore, the condition of the vessel they choose to hire. In some cases, charterers, such as some major oil conglomerates, will have detailed vetting processes that examine whether the vessel complies with international standards before they put a single drop of product on a vessel. Such efforts to ensure a vessel meets international standards before making a chartering decision assist Port State Control regimes in combating substandard practices in the safety and environmental protection realm. In the ISPS Code realm, the charterer may also vet a vessel's security compliance program before making the chartering decision. While the charterer does not have direct influence on the vessel's operation in all cases, charterers strongly influence the maritime industry by the choices they make in determining who to hire. This ultimately affects and changes the habits of substandard operators which is the ultimate goal of the Port State Control program.