Maritime safety: port State control

KEY POINTS

Scope

The directive applies to any eligible ship and its crew calling at, or anchored in, an EU port. It does not cover:

• fishing vessels under 24 metres in length;
• warships and naval auxiliaries;
• government ships used for non-commercial purposes;
• wooden ships of primitive build;
• pleasure yachts not engaged in trade.

Directive (EU) 2017/2110 widens the scope of the directive to include inspections of ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) passenger ships and high-speed passenger ships in regular service:

• before starting a regular service, these ships must undergo an inspection;
• if inspected by another EU Member State within the previous eight months and found satisfactory, no further inspection is required;
• operators must also ensure that their schedules allow sufficient time for these inspections.

Following amendments introduced by Directive (EU) 2024/3099, Member States may decide to also apply parallel port State control regime to fishing vessels of 24 metres and over, supported by a dedicated THETIS module and common guidelines developed with the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

General obligations

• Member States must ensure they have a sufficient number of qualified inspectors with the resources needed to carry out inspections.
• They must also put in place a certified quality management system for their port State control activities by 6 July 2032.
• The European Commission must develop a professional training programme for Member States’ port State control inspectors and update it regularly to address new safety, environmental, social and technological developments.

Risk profile

• All eligible ships using an EU port are assigned a risk profile in the THETIS inspection database. The profile determines the frequency and type of inspection and is based on generic, historical and environmental parameters, including:
  • the ship’s type and age;
  • its detention and deficiency record in previous port State control inspections;
  • the performance of its flag state and company in port State control inspections;
  • environment-related deficiencies.
• The environmental parameters reflect compliance with key international conventions, including the Ballast Water Management Convention, the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks and the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling.
• The Commission maintains and updates the inspection database. It regularly publishes details of companies with low or very low compliance rates on the THETIS website.

Inspection intervals

• Ships become eligible for inspection according to their risk profile:
  • high-risk ships after five months (maximum interval of six months);
  • standard-risk ships after 10 months (maximum interval of 12 months);
  • low-risk ships after 24 months (maximum interval of 36 months).
• Priority is given to inspecting vessels that call infrequently to EU ports.

Inspection planning

• To support inspection planning, THETIS is linked to SafeSeaNet, which provides information on ships in, or expected at, all EU ports:
  • arrival and departure times must be transmitted within three hours;
  • the THETIS system supports electronic statutory certificates;
  • the Commission will establish, through implementing acts, an EU tool to validate their authenticity.
• Member States may postpone inspections in cases such as very short port stays or adverse safety or weather conditions. Postponed inspections must be carried out within 15 days or at the next EU or Paris MoU port of call, and must be recorded in THETIS so that they do not count as missed inspections.
• Inspections that cannot be carried out due to exceptional circumstances, such as safety risks, night-time calls, natural disasters or public health emergencies, do not count as missed when duly justified and recorded.

Types of inspections

• Initial inspections verify certificates and documents and assess the ship’s overall condition.
• A more detailed inspection is carried out when clear grounds exist, such as deficiencies, anomalies or other indications of possible non-compliance.
• Expanded inspections, which cover additional safety and pollution prevention items, apply to:
  • ships with a high risk profile;
  • passenger ships and bulk, oil, gas, chemical and noxious liquid substances tankers that are more than 12 years old;
  • ships to which overriding or unexpected factors apply;
  • ships undergoing their first inspection after a refusal-of-access order has been lifted.
• Expanded inspections must, as far as possible, be carried out by at least two inspectors. If this is not feasible, the reasons must be recorded in THETIS.
• Any deficiencies found must be rectified. If they pose a clear risk to safety, health or the environment, the vessel is detained until they are made good.

Refusal of access

• Access to EU ports may be refused when a ship has been detained several times, taking into account the performance of its flag state on the Paris MoU high, medium and low performance lists. Refusal may last:
  • three months after a first refusal;
  • 12 months after a second refusal;
  • 24 months after a third refusal.

Further detentions may lead to permanent refusal of access.

• A ship that leaves port without complying with a detention order, or fails to proceed to its designated repair yard, is subject to a refusal of access of at least 12 months.
• Shipowners or operators may appeal against detentions and refusals of access.

The Commission:

• may update the list of international conventions and port State control procedures through delegated and implementing acts;
• will evaluate implementation of the directive by 6 July 2032, and every five years thereafter.