regulation - MarineCraft

Top 10 Maritime Compliance Mistakes Shipowners Make — And How to Avoid Them

July 24, 2026May 26, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

In the 2025–2026 regulatory environment, the most damaging compliance failures are not obscure or unpredictable. They are recurring, preventable patterns. Delayed corrective actions, weak documentation, misaligned charter clauses, and fragmented governance between technical and commercial teams are consistently among the leading causes of PSC detentions, regulatory penalties, and avoidable commercial costs across the global fleet.

SOLAS Compliance for Life-Saving Appliances: What Ship Operators Get Wrong

July 24, 2026May 24, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

SOLAS life-saving appliance requirements are among the most detailed and most frequently deficient areas in port state control inspections worldwide. The gap between what operators think they are doing and what the Convention actually requires is wider than most realise.

Marine Fuel Trends 2026: LNG, Biofuels, Methanol, Ammonia & What to Expect

July 24, 2026May 19, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

Marine fuel is no longer just a line-item cost. It is a strategic lever that determines compliance standing, charter eligibility, and long-term fleet value. The 2026–2030 period is the phase in which the industry’s energy transition moves from pilot projects and regulatory preparation into operational reality, and the decisions taken on fuel strategy now will shape competitive positioning for the rest of the decade.

Liferaft Servicing: Why Delays Are Dangerous & Best Practice for Shipowners

August 5, 2026May 12, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

A liferaft is the last line of defence for crew survival when abandoning ship. Yet schedule pressure and misplaced cost-consciousness routinely lead to delayed or inadequate servicing, creating silent, ship-wide risk that remains invisible until the moment it cannot be afforded. Understanding why on-time servicing is non-negotiable is fundamental to sound safety management.

Top Fire Safety Non-Compliance Issues on Ships: PSC Findings & How to Fix Them

September 8, 2026May 5, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

Fire safety deficiencies are consistently among the leading causes of detainable PSC findings on ships. The same non-compliances appear repeatedly across vessel types and flag states, engine room housekeeping failures, inoperable detection systems, structural breaches, and fire drills that test paperwork rather than people. Understanding where these gaps occur is the first step to closing them before an inspector finds them.

Class Surveys, Flag State Surveys & Port State Control: Key Differences Explained

August 5, 2026April 28, 2026 by MarineCraft Journal

Large Ship named Oliter Freya docked at a port of call

Class surveys, flag state surveys, and Port State Control inspections each serve a different authority, follow different rules, and affect a vessel’s licence to trade in distinct ways. Understanding how they interact is fundamental to sound ship management, and to knowing which gaps in compliance carry the most commercial and operational risk.