Insights

How Port State Control Targets Ships: The Paris and Tokyo MoUs

Port State Control is coordinated regionally through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). The Paris MoU, covering Europe and the North Atlantic, and the Tokyo MoU, covering the Asia-Pacific region, are among the most prominent, and they share data so a ship's record follows it between regions.

5 min read

Ship risk profiles

Under the Paris MoU's inspection regime, ships are assigned a risk profile, low, standard or high, based on factors that include ship type and age, the performance of the flag State and the recognized organization, the company's performance, and the ship's own inspection and detention history.

A ship's risk profile drives how frequently it is selected for inspection and how thorough that inspection is likely to be.

Flag and company performance

The Paris MoU publishes performance lists that rank flag States, commonly described as white, grey and black lists, according to their inspection and detention record. Company performance is also tracked. Both feed back into individual ships' risk profiles.

What it means for owners

Risk profiles reward consistency. Keeping a clean inspection record, choosing well-performing flags and recognized organizations, and closing deficiencies promptly all lower your exposure to frequent, in-depth inspection over time.

Put This Into Practice

Talk to a senior reviewer about your fleet, your next inspection or your newbuilding program.