The International Association for Classification Societies (IACS) has published the results of its Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Emergency Power Supply Tests on ships, conducted during 2025. The campaign aimed to address concerns raised by the Tokyo MoU over risks in testing procedures following observations from Port State Control officers.
The campaign commenced on January 1, 2025, and ended on December 31, 2025, with emergency power supply inspections conducted on a total of 36,723 ships. In the vast majority of cases, no issues were identified, but 853 inspected ships (2.32%) showed deficiencies.
The survey panel's analysis revealed critical equipment failure points, including closing quick-closing valve, control unit/circuit, and Emergency Diesel Generator starting arrangement. These failures indicate industry-wide issues with maintenance, installation quality, or component durability.
These findings highlight the need for improved equipment maintenance, installation quality, and component durability to ensure SOLAS Ch. II-1 Reg. 42/43 compliance for automatic Emergency Power Supply activation.
The campaign also identified non-equipment deficiencies, including the lack of controlled blackout test procedures in company and shipboard Safety Management Systems (SMS). This is contrary to SOLAS Ch. II-1 Reg. 42.7/43.7 periodic full system testing.
Simulated blackout tests are widely used but do not test actual circuit paths required for real blackouts, giving ships' engineers a false sense of readiness of the ship's emergency systems.
The report also highlighted crew unfamiliarity with Emergency Diesel Generator operation and mis-selection of starting switch modes. Human error is a significant contributor to malfunctions during emergencies.
Including gaps in crew training, competency, and safety culture are also major concerns identified by the campaign.
IACS recommends that during ISM audits, focus should be on ensuring a procedure exists for conducting controlled blackout tests for emergency diesel generators. The organization will consider further analysis to clarify inspection and testing cycles and requirements for high-frequency malfunctional components.
The industry must prioritize equipment maintenance and installation quality to ensure SOLAS compliance.
