Why Can Foreign Ships Be Detained by the US? Coast Guard Data Reveals Interesting Facts

JAKARTA — The detention of luxury cruise ship MSC Poesia by the US Coast Guard at the Port of Miami has drawn attention to the strict safety oversight of foreign vessels entering US waters. The latest official data show that, of nearly 9,000 inspections in 2025, only 77 resulted in a vessel being detained.

A particularly notable finding concerns passenger ships. The US Coast Guard’s annual report recorded 389 inspections of passenger vessels in 2025. Of these, 205 identified deficiencies or failures to comply with applicable requirements. However, none of the inspections in this category resulted in a detention.

The figures appear in the Port State Control in the United States: 2025 Annual Report, published by the US Coast Guard on 19 May 2026. The report offers an overview of how the US government monitors the safety of foreign vessels, including the reasons a ship may be barred from leaving port.

According to the report, 11,279 individual foreign-flagged vessels from 79 flag administrations made 76,351 calls at US ports in 2025. Authorities carried out 8,999 safety inspections under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

There were 77 detentions during the year, down from 82 in 2024. The US Coast Guard reported an annual detention rate of 0.85 per cent, lower than the 0.94 per cent recorded the previous year.

The figures show that detention is a relatively uncommon enforcement measure compared with the number of inspections. However, it can have a significant impact, as a vessel that has not received approval from the authorities cannot continue its voyage as scheduled.

The case of MSC Poesia is a recent example. The Panama-flagged vessel was detained at PortMiami on Sunday, 1 November 2026, after authorities conducted an expanded inspection of the ship’s condition and systems.

The inspection led MSC Cruises to cancel an 11-night voyage to the Caribbean and Central America that was due to begin on the same day.

US Coast Guard Sector Miami Commander Captain Frank Florio confirmed that inspectors had found deficiencies in several onboard systems, according to a statement quoted by CBS News on Tuesday, 3 November 2026.

Florio said the ship had to remain in port until the deficiencies were rectified and the authorities approved its departure.

The US Coast Guard has not yet disclosed which systems were affected in detail. It is therefore not possible to conclude whether the detention of MSC Poesia was related to its fire-fighting systems, engines, lifesaving equipment or other components.

Miami records 13 detentions in a year

The US Coast Guard’s 2025 report also shows that the area overseen by Sector Miami was among those with a relatively high number of vessel detentions.

During the year, Sector Miami conducted 438 foreign-vessel safety inspections and recorded 13 detentions.

That was about 16.9 per cent of the 77 detentions recorded nationwide.

Compared with the number of inspections in the sector, 13 detentions out of 438 inspections amounted to about 2.97 per cent.

However, this figure should be understood as a statistic for Sector Miami’s area of responsibility, not solely for inspections physically carried out at PortMiami.

The report also does not state that all detentions in the Miami area involved cruise ships. The oversight data cover various types of foreign vessels inspected under maritime safety requirements.

By comparison, Sector Houston/Galveston recorded six detentions from 1,166 inspections, while Sector New York recorded four from 754 inspections.

Sector Charleston conducted 208 inspections and recorded six detentions. Sector Mobile, meanwhile, recorded nine detentions from 379 inspections.

These differences show that the number of detentions is not necessarily proportional to the number of inspections.

The risk profile of vessels inspected, fleet types, compliance histories and technical conditions found can all influence the outcome of oversight.

However, the annual statistics cannot be used to determine the cause of MSC Poesia’s detention in November 2026.