MOU on Port State Control

A Memorandum of Understanding on port state control is a regional agreement under which member port states inspect foreign ships in their ports to verify compliance with international conventions on safety, pollution prevention, and crew working conditions. The Paris MOU, signed in 1982, was the first and covers Europe and the North Atlantic; the Tokyo MOU covers the Asia-Pacific. They share inspection results, target high-risk ships, and can detain a substandard vessel. Port state control developed precisely because flag states often fail to enforce standards on their own registered ships.