Port State Control Guidelines

Port State Control (PSC) is a ship inspection program whereby foreign vessels entering a sovereign state’s waters are boarded and inspected to ensure compliance with various major international maritime conventions, namely: International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarer (STCW), Load Lines (LL), Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) and International Labour Organization Convention No. 147 Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) (ILO 147). PSC programs are of a regional nature; that is, several countries sharing common waters have grouped together under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure that vessels trading in their area are not substandard.