Port State control preparation should test the vessel’s actual condition, crew familiarity, and statutory records—not become a paperwork exercise based on guessing what an inspector may select.
This checklist uses common PSC code groups to organize review. It is neither a detention analysis nor a universal code list. Current IMO procedures, regional MoU material, applicable requirements, flag instructions, class status, and the vessel’s safety management system remain controlling.
Why PSC Deficiency Codes Matter
Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU codes standardize findings across areas including documentation, structure, emergency and fire systems, navigation, pollution prevention, working and living conditions, ISM, and ISPS.
Codes support documentation but do not replace an inspector’s assessment. An initial inspection covers certificates and documents plus the general condition of the ship, equipment, and crew. Evidence of substantial non-compliance or unfamiliarity with essential safety or pollution-prevention procedures may provide clear grounds for a more detailed inspection.
Use the categories in both directions:
- Code to condition: Identify equipment, documents, records, and demonstrations requiring review.
- Condition to code: For each defect, identify the applicable regulatory, technical, and SMS controls rather than merely applying an internal label.
IMO Resolution A.1155(32) has been superseded. As of this draft, Resolution A.1206(34), Procedures for Port State Control, 2025, adopted on 3 December 2025, is current. Do not rely on obsolete procedures or regional code lists.
Tokyo MoU vs Paris MoU Inspection Preparation
Both regimes use category-based deficiency systems, but vessels should verify the current material for the region being entered.
| Preparation point | Paris MoU | Tokyo MoU |
|---|---|---|
| Code reference | Current official publication | Current official publication |
| Inspection records | THETIS | APCIS |
| Core approach | Verify condition, records, and crew readiness | Verify condition, records, and crew readiness |
| Updates | Check codes and campaigns | Check codes and campaigns |
The Paris MoU list effective 1 July 2026 contains 18 categories; Tokyo MoU material was updated for implementation in December 2025. A spreadsheet copied from an earlier inspection is therefore not definitive.
Campaign priorities also change. The joint ballast water management campaign ran from 1 September to 30 November 2025. Although concluded, its subjects remain useful checks: certification, an approved current plan, crew familiarization, system approval and operation, record-book completion, sediment management, and exemption conditions.
System-by-System PSC Deficiency Codes Prep Checklist
Certificates, documents, and management systems
- Group 01 — Certificates and documentation: Confirm ship and crew certificates are valid, available, consistent, and aligned with actual equipment and operating status. Check required plans, manuals, logbooks, stability information, and pollution records.
- Group 15 — ISM: Review open defects, non-conformities, corrective actions, and overdue maintenance. Confirm failures are risk-assessed under the SMS and officers can explain relevant procedures.
- Group 16 — ISPS: Verify required security documentation corresponds with onboard practice.
Structure and watertight integrity
- Group 02 — Structural condition: Inspect accessible hull, deck, bulkhead, and structural areas for visible damage or deterioration. Compare known conditions with survey and repair records.
- Group 03 — Water and weathertight condition: Test relevant doors, hatchways, ventilators, seals, securing arrangements, and closing devices. Confirm freeboard-related arrangements are clear and maintained.
Emergency, fire, alarm, radio, and life-saving systems
- Group 04 — Emergency systems: Test emergency power, lighting, public address arrangements, and applicable drills. Confirm instructions are available and understood.
- Group 05 — Radio communication: Check applicable equipment, distress functions, power supplies, and records.
- Group 07 — Fire safety: Inspect detection systems, firefighting appliances, fire pumps, dampers, controls, access, identification, maintenance status, and crew familiarity.
- Alarm and life-saving groups: Test applicable alarms. Inspect lifeboats, liferafts, immersion suits, launching arrangements, and records. Never substitute paint, concealment, or unsupported entries for rectification.
Navigation, machinery, cargo, and pollution prevention
- Group 10 — Safety of navigation: Review passage planning, charts or ECDIS, publications, radar, AIS, and VDR as applicable. Have bridge officers demonstrate normal and emergency operation.
- Machinery and propulsion: Review propulsion, steering, auxiliaries, safeguards, alarms, leaks, and open defects. Escalate conditions affecting safe operation through applicable company, flag, class, or port processes.
- Cargo operations: Check relevant manuals, securing arrangements, and atmosphere-testing equipment.
- Group 14 — Pollution prevention: Verify MARPOL-related equipment, records, plans, and crew knowledge. Include ballast-water certificates, plan, system operation, record book, sediments, and exemptions.
- Group 09 — Working and living conditions: Review sanitation, food-related conditions, medical and employment documentation, and rest-hour records against applicable requirements.
Link Every Finding to a Repair Plan
Every defect needs an owner and disposition:
- Describe the actual condition without minimizing it.
- Identify the requirement and affected certificate, system, or procedure.
- Assess operational consequences under the SMS.
- Assign responsibility and timing for parts, labor, testing, and verification.
- Make required flag, class, port State, or other notifications.
- Record temporary controls accurately if permanent repair is delayed.
- Close the item only after evidence-based verification.
When an inspector assigns a PSC action code, comply with its required follow-up rather than assuming a preferred deadline.
The 48-Hour Pre-Arrival Drill
48–36 hours before arrival
- Confirm current regional codes and active campaigns.
- Review certificates, survey status, previous findings, open defects, and repairs.
- Create one controlled action list with named owners.
36–24 hours before arrival
- Conduct system rounds and safe, permitted function tests.
- Make only accurate, traceable record corrections; never backfill or falsify.
- Escalate defects requiring shore, technical, flag, or class assistance.
24–12 hours before arrival
- Run vessel-appropriate fire, abandon-ship, emergency-power, steering, and pollution-response checks.
- Test crew knowledge of assigned duties and equipment.
- Verify repairs and supporting evidence.
Final 12 hours
- Recheck high-consequence items and required notifications.
- Arrange certificates, plans, manuals, and records for access.
- Brief the crew to answer accurately, demonstrate safely, and avoid speculation.
The vessel’s own detention and repair history, including records held in MaritimeNG, may help prioritize the drill but cannot replace a full compliance review.
Conclusion
Effective Tokyo MoU and Paris MoU preparation begins with compliance, not code memorization. Connect documents, physical condition, crew competence, repairs, and accurate records. Rectify each deficiency or manage it formally through applicable SMS, flag, class, and port processes. The purpose is to expose unresolved risk before arrival—not hide it.