Inspection regime where a coastal nation's surveyors inspect foreign vessels in its ports for compliance with international conventions.
In practice
For a master and senior officers, a PSC inspection is a regular operational event. Inspectors examine statutory certificates, survey records, the logbook, the Oil Record Book, rest hour records, and safety equipment. They will test smoke detectors, verify EPIRB registration, check immersion suit servicing, and observe a drill. Targeted inspections triggered by deficiency history or intelligence from the shipping information system go deeper and may include cargo documentation and crew welfare.
Regulatory detail & full definition
Port state control is the inspection regime by which coastal and port nations exercise authority over foreign-flagged vessels calling at their ports. The right derives from international conventions including SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, MLC 2006, and the Load Line Convention, which require flag states to ensure their ships comply; where the flag state has failed, the port state may intervene. Inspections are co-ordinated through regional Memoranda of Understanding, of which the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU are the largest.
For a master and senior officers, a PSC inspection is a regular operational event. Inspectors examine statutory certificates, survey records, the logbook, the Oil Record Book, rest hour records, and safety equipment. They will test smoke detectors, verify EPIRB registration, check immersion suit servicing, and observe a drill. Targeted inspections triggered by deficiency history or intelligence from the shipping information system go deeper and may include cargo documentation and crew welfare.
Deficiencies found during inspection range from minor observations to grounds for detention. A vessel may be detained until deficiencies affecting safety are rectified. Repeated detention is recorded in the port state control databases used by all MoU member states, damaging the vessel's risk profile and increasing the probability of future inspections. Flag states are also rated on their ship performance and may be placed on the white, grey, or black list.