Flag State Inspection

A flag state inspection is a formal examination of a vessel conducted by an inspector acting on behalf of the administration of the country under whose flag the vessel is registered, to verify that the ship, its equipment, and its crew meet the requirements of that flag state's maritime legislation and the international conventions it has ratified. Flag states delegate much of this inspection function to recognised organisations (ROs) — classification societies authorised by the flag administration — who conduct surveys and issue statutory certificates on the flag state's behalf. Flag state inspections may be conducted directly by government officers as a check on the RO's work, as part of a flag state's obligations under IMO Resolution A.1070(28) (the III Code) which requires flag administrations to demonstrate that they effectively exercise jurisdiction over their flagged vessels. ISM Code audits, ISPS Code compliance checks, and MLC 2006 flag state inspections are among the most common direct flag state activities. Poor flag state oversight performance — as measured by PSC detention rates and Paris/Tokyo MoU flag lists — may result in a flag being placed on a grey or black list, attracting additional PSC scrutiny for all vessels registered under that flag.