Port state control is the right of a country to board foreign ships in its ports and check that they meet the international conventions: SOLAS for safety, MARPOL for pollution, STCW for crew training, the Load Line Convention, MLC 2006 for living and working conditions, and others. A ship found with serious deficiencies can be detained until they are put right, which costs days, money and reputation. This checklist is the crew's own look at the ship before arrival, in roughly the order an inspector goes, so that what can be fixed is fixed first. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
A self-check, not the inspection
Nothing on this form predicts or replaces a port state control inspection. The officer who boards decides what to look at, how deep to go, what counts as a deficiency and whether the ship is detained. Regional agreements such as the Paris and Tokyo memoranda, and national authorities such as the US Coast Guard, each run their own targeting and inspection regimes.
What the form does is make sure the ship has looked at herself first, honestly, with time left to act. Every No becomes an action with a person and a date. A ship that arrives having closed its own list rarely gets surprised by an easy finding.
Start with the papers and the people
An initial inspection usually begins in the master's office with the certificates, the crew list and the safe manning document, and often ends there if everything is in order and the ship looks well kept. Gaps in the paperwork, such as an expired certificate, a missing endorsement, or company details that differ between documents, are the first reason for an inspector to look harder.
The crew section checks that officers hold the right certificates and flag endorsements, that medical certificates are in date, that hours of rest are recorded truthfully and match the deck and engine logs, and that seafarer employment agreements are on board. Inconsistent rest hours are among the commonest findings, and the hardest to fix the day before arrival.
Drills the crew could repeat on demand
Inspectors may ask for a fire drill or an abandon-ship drill and watch how it goes. They look for people who know the alarm, know their station and duty, put on equipment properly and talk to each other. A drill held a few days before arrival, with a scenario that is not the same as last month's, is the best preparation there is.
The drills section checks the muster list, the drill records, the emergency equipment that a drill relies on, and whether the crew members asked at random can explain their own duties.
MARPOL, structure and the safety management system
Pollution prevention is checked against the records and the equipment together: oil record book entries that match the tank soundings, a separator that runs, a garbage record book that agrees with what is in the store, sewage plant working, and fuel records showing the right fuel burned in emission control areas.
Structural and watertight integrity covers what keeps the sea out and the ship whole: closures, hatch covers, air pipes and ventilators, watertight doors and the hull that can be seen. The safety management system part asks whether the ship is running the system it says it runs: maintenance done, defects reported, non-conformities closed, and the master's review held.
Common questions
What is a port state control inspection?
An inspection by the authorities of the port a ship is visiting to verify that the ship, her equipment and her crew meet the international conventions the port state applies. It is separate from flag state surveys and class surveys, and it applies to foreign-flagged ships visiting that country.
What happens if deficiencies are found?
Each deficiency is given an action, such as rectify before departure, rectify within a set time, or at the next port. Deficiencies that make the ship unsafe or a clear risk to the environment can lead to detention until they are put right. The ship's company, flag and class are normally notified.
What are the most common port state control deficiencies?
Year after year the regional reports list fire safety, life-saving appliances, safety of navigation, the safety management system, hours of rest and living conditions, and pollution prevention among the top areas. The last-look section of this form covers several small items that often appear in those reports.
When should the ship run this checklist?
Far enough before arrival to fix what it finds, typically a few days out, and again briefly the day before. Ships trading to ports with a high inspection rate often run it on every passage.
Who should complete it?
The master with the chief officer and the chief engineer, each taking their own areas, and the master signing at the end. Superintendents sometimes run it with the ship on a pre-arrival visit.
Does completing this form mean the ship will pass?
No. It records what the crew checked and what they found. Only the port state control officer decides the outcome of an inspection, and they may look at things this form does not cover.