Paris Memorandum of Understanding

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control is a regional agreement, established in 1982, by which European and North Atlantic coastal states co-ordinate their inspection of foreign-flagged vessels entering their ports. Member states — including the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and others — share inspection data through the THETIS database, enabling a risk-based targeting system that directs resources towards the vessels most likely to be substandard. For a ship operating in European waters, the Paris MoU regime means that deficiencies found in one member state port are visible to all others. A vessel with a poor inspection history will be targeted for priority inspection upon each call. Companies managing vessels in the Paris MoU area must maintain accurate certificates, well-kept record books, and a functioning safety management system in order to achieve a low risk profile. The MoU publishes an annual report showing detention rates by flag, classification society, and ship type, providing industry with a transparency mechanism. Vessels on the black list — belonging to persistently deficient flags — may be refused entry to Paris MoU ports after three detentions within a twenty-four month period, known as the banning provision. This gives the regime significant commercial leverage to improve standards.