Port State Control

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Please take note of the requirements of the New inspection regime as mentioned in the text and in the download area as well.

General

In 1982 fourteen European countries agreed to perform controls, without pre-notification, on foreign-flagged merchant ships calling at their ports and adopted the “Paris Memorandum on Port State Control” (Paris MoU/www.parismou.org). Since then the Paris MoU has been acknowledged as a success story with a ground-breaking role in the international development of Port State Control.

Today the Paris MoU consists of 27 Member States which co-ordinate their efforts in the enforcement of compliance with international conventions.

The managing company is responsible for the safety on board of ships, the working and living conditions and the protection of the marine environment. Flag states or the recognised organisations working on their behalf are then responsible for ensuring their ships compliance with international rules and regulations covering these aspects.

The Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit has been performing port State control (PSC) inspections in Germany since 1982.  The selection and control of the ships for inspection are carried out as required by the Directive 2009/16/EC as amended and in accordance with the procedures of the Paris MoU. Ship selection is based on a risk calculation generated by the THETIS database. In addition ships are inspected in response to information received from third parties with an interest in the safety of the ship or crew members concerning safety matters on board.

The Port State Control Officers (PSCO) from the Port State Control crew are master mariners or marine engineers who use their considerable experience and professional judgement in checking compliance and determining appropriate measures.

Statistics

Every year an average of 1.400 PSC inspections are carried out in German ports. About 50% of those inspections reveal deficiencies. 1.466 inspections were carried out in 2010. Deficiencies were found on 733 ships, and out of these 36 ships were detained. In the Paris MoU region as a whole, 24.182 inspections were carried out on 14.753 ships. Here you find more information and the annual report of Paris MoU.

Examples for Substandard ships

Here you can find examples of substandard conditions in ships found by Port State Control in Germany.