What exactly is it and how can it affect a ship, its crew, the owner and others possibly involved ?
 
It is clearly understood that the responsibility for ensuring that ships comply with the provisions of the relevant instruments rests upon the owners, masters and the flag States. Unfortunately, certain flag States, for various reasons, fail to fulfil their commitments contained in agreed international legal instruments and subsequently some ships are sailing the world’s seas in an unsafe condition, threatening the lives of all those on board as well as the marine environment. The Paris MOU on Port State control is a system of harmonized inspection procedures designed to target sub-standards ships with the main objective being their eventual elimination.
 
The information contained in the following pages is aimed to provide you with a brief outline of port State control procedures under the Paris MOU. For particular procedures in force you are referred to the full text of the Paris MOU on Port State Control.