# Analyzing Port State Control Data to Explore Future Improvements to GMDSS Training
## Materials and Methods  
### Description of the Database  
The data set for this study consists of a database that covers a period from 2005 to 2022 (18 years). The universe of data is 23,725 PSC inspection records in the ports included in the MoU of Paris. They are the total number of inspections revealing deficiencies regarding SOLAS Chapter IV (radiocommunications and the GMDSS). Each record (each row of the database) contains a data set that (directly or after post-processing) will form part of this study and will be explained below this subsection. The total number of different vessels that are included at least once in this database consists of 13,178 different ships. This implies that some of these ships have been inspected with findings related to the GDMSS several times within the past 18 years. Before moving forward, it is worth highlighting the following about the chosen time interval:  
* In 2005, there was a concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) focused on the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS). Some part of the number of deficiencies encountered may be due to this fact. * During 2020-2021, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were felt in global maritime traffic. * In 2022, there was a concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) focused on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). * In 2022, the Russian Federation was temporarily excluded from the Paris MoU. The general description of the database and its most relevant figures are those that will be presented in Tables 1-3. Specifically, Table 1 states that the percentage of GMDSS inspections with respect to the total number of inspections year after year within the Paris MoU tends to decrease since they have gone from 10% (2007) to 3% (2022). Raw data were downloaded from the Paris MoU inspections database, which can be located at [[https://parismou.org/inspection-Database/inspection-search/](https://parismou.org/inspection-Database/inspection-search/)]([https://parismou.org/inspection-Database/inspection-search/](https://parismou.org/inspection-Database/inspection-search/)) (accessed on 11 December 2023). The THETIS system offers information on vessels that help create the risk profile that is used to select the vessel that has to be inspected. The data available refers to the vessels inspected with findings related to the GDMSS. Therefore, those vessels that have been inspected with positive results in the radio communications department are not included in the database and the following analysis. The original database downloaded in MS Excel format, actually consists of 30,911 rows with the original information per deficiency. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Data**} \\ \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Inspections**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Ship Age**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Ships**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Deficiencies**} \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Years**} & **Number of Inspections** & \multirow{3}{*}{**Averaged Age**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Total Number of**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Total Number of Radio**} \\  & **Involved in** & & **Depferential Ships** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Defficiencies that Cause**} \\  & **Detentions per Year** & & **Involved per Year** & & **Detention per Year** \\ \hline  
\hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Summary of the Radio Communications inspections (year by year) that lead to detention.