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Port State Control (PSC) is the right and responsibility of a coastal state to inspect foreign-flagged ships visiting its ports, to verify that they comply with applicable international maritime conventions. PSC officers — typically employed by a maritime administration or port authority — board vessels and check compliance with major conventions including SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), MARPOL, the ISM Code, the STCW Convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping), and MLC 2006 (Maritime Labour Convention).
PSC exists because flag state oversight alone is insufficient to guarantee safety standards across the global fleet. A ship registered in one country may call at dozens of others in a year. PSC gives those countries the legal authority to verify that the vessel meets international standards — and to detain it until deficiencies are corrected if it does not. This creates a powerful incentive for shipowners and managers to maintain genuine compliance, not just paper compliance.
Deficiencies found during PSC inspections are entered into shared databases maintained by regional MoU organisations. This means a deficiency found in Rotterdam is visible to inspectors in Singapore, Houston, and Sydney. A ship's inspection history — and its risk score — follows it around the world, influencing how often it is targeted for inspection and how thoroughly it is examined when it is.
PSC is organised through regional Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), each covering a geographic area. The Paris MoU covers Europe and the North Atlantic (27 member states). The Tokyo MoU covers the Asia-Pacific region (21 member states). The US Coast Guard (USCG) operates its own independent inspection regime covering US ports. Other major regimes include the Indian Ocean MoU, Mediterranean MoU, Acuerdo de Viña del Mar (Latin America), Black Sea MoU, Caribbean MoU, Abuja MoU (West Africa), and Riyadh MoU (Arabian Gulf).
The key practical implication of this global network is that deficiencies are shared. All MoU member states contribute inspection data to a common database — meaning that a detention in one region affects a vessel's risk profile in all others. A ship that accumulates deficiencies across multiple port calls will be targeted as a high-risk vessel and inspected more frequently and more thoroughly, regardless of which regime it encounters.
The Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU annually publish port state control reports that include lists of ships detained, flag state performance rankings, and deficiency statistics by convention. These reports are public and are closely watched by insurers, charterers, and vessel financiers. Poor PSC performance has direct commercial consequences beyond the detention itself.
PSC officers use a risk-based targeting system to select vessels for inspection. High-risk factors include: a poor recent inspection record, flag state on the Paris or Tokyo MoU's grey or black list, certain ship types (tankers, bulk carriers, and passenger ships receive greater scrutiny), ships that have not been inspected recently, ships calling at a port for the first time, and ships reported by crew or pilots as having deficiencies.
During an inspection, officers check certificates (SOLAS, MARPOL, ISM Code, MLC), structural condition, safety equipment, fire protection, navigation equipment, engine room condition, and evidence that the Safety Management System (SMS) is actually implemented. They may also check Planned Maintenance System records, drills records, rest hour logs, and crew certification. An initial inspection may escalate to a more detailed inspection if deficiencies are found or if the officer has reason to believe the overall condition of the ship is substandard.
Detention occurs when deficiencies are judged to be "clearly hazardous to safety, health, or the environment" or when there are so many deficiencies that the cumulative effect represents a serious risk. A detained ship cannot leave port until the deficiencies are corrected and verified by a PSC officer. The cost of detention — off-hire revenue lost, crew costs, rectification costs, and the reputational damage — can be substantial.
Effective PSC preparation is not a last-minute activity before a port call — it is the continuous outcome of good ship management practice. Ships that consistently perform well in PSC inspections share certain characteristics: their certificates and documentation are always current, their Planned Maintenance System records are complete and up to date, their Safety Management System (SMS) is genuinely implemented and crew-facing, and their QHSE management reporting is active and shows a closed-loop approach to corrective actions.
Shore managers play a critical role in PSC preparation. Regular remote monitoring of certificate expiry dates, overdue maintenance jobs, outstanding non-conformities, and drill completion rates allows potential deficiencies to be identified and corrected before the vessel reaches port. A vessel superintendent who can see at a glance that three maintenance jobs are overdue and one safety certificate is expiring next week can act — rather than discovering the problem when a PSC officer is already on board.
Understanding the specific requirements of the ports and regimes a vessel will call at is also important. The Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU publish current detention lists and deficiency statistics, making it possible to identify which areas are currently receiving heightened scrutiny. Recent trends have included increased focus on MARPOL Annex VI emissions compliance, CII Rating documentation, and rest hour record-keeping under MLC 2006.
Infoship gives fleet managers continuous, real-time visibility of the factors most likely to generate PSC deficiencies. Certificate status dashboards show every expiry date across the fleet, with configurable alert periods. The Planned Maintenance System module flags overdue maintenance jobs by vessel and priority. The QHSE module shows open non-conformities and corrective actions awaiting closure. All of this is visible at the fleet level — not just vessel by vessel — so managers can prioritise resources on the vessels most at risk.
When a PSC officer requests documentation on board, the crew can access all relevant records through the Infoship system: Safety Management System (SMS) procedures, drill records, maintenance logs, non-conformity reports with corrective actions, and certificate files are all stored centrally and searchable. This removes the scramble to locate paper records and demonstrates to the inspector that the company's management system is genuinely in use — which is itself a positive signal in any PSC inspection.
