Regulation, Law, Compliance and Governance

Compliance, certification and enforcement glossary

How the rules are administered and enforced: flag state administration and open registries, Port State Control through the Paris and Tokyo MoUs, the USCG program, and THETIS, classification societies and IACS acting as Recognized Organizations under the RO Code, industry vetting (SIRE 2.0, RightShip, TMSA), casualty investigation under the Casualty Investigation Code, and sanctions and seafarer-rights enforcement through the ILO and ITF.

78 defined terms.

A

Abuja MoU: Memorandum of Understanding on PSC for West and Central African Region.
Audit (External): Verification by classification society or RO of ISM, ISPS, and MLC systems.
Audit (Internal): ISM Code Element 12 audit of the SMS.

B

Banned Ship: Vessel refused access under PSC regimes after multiple detentions.
BIMCO Sanctions Clauses: Standard contractual responses to UN, EU, UK, and US sanctions exposure.
Black List: Categorization of flags or ships with high detention ratios under PSC MoUs.

C

Caribbean MoU: PSC regime for Caribbean states.
Casualty Investigation Code: Code of the International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident, mandatory under SOLAS XI-1/6.
CDI: Chemical Distribution Institute, ship-inspection scheme for chemical and gas tankers.
Class Survey: Periodic survey under classification society rules.
Classification Society: Organization that develops technical rules and certifies compliance; members of IACS include ABS, BV, CCS, CRS, DNV, IRS, KR, LR, NK, PRS, RINA, and RS.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 33 and 46: US maritime regulations enforced by USCG.
Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC): PSC focused inspection on a designated topic.
Condition of Class (CoC): Class-society notation requiring corrective action by a deadline.
Confidence Factor: Used in some PSC inspection priority algorithms.
CSO: Company Security Officer under ISPS Code Part A/11.

D

Detention: PSC action holding a ship until deficiencies are rectified.
Document of Compliance (DOC): Issued to companies under ISM Code.

E

EU ETS Shipping: Inclusion of maritime emissions in the EU Emissions Trading System from 2024.
EU MRV: EU Regulation 2015/757 on monitoring, reporting, and verification of CO2 emissions from shipping.
External Audit: Conducted by flag state or RO under ISM, ISPS, and MLC.

F

Fit and Proper: Standard applied by some flag administrations to operators.
Flag State Inspection (FSI): Inspection conducted by flag administration or RO on its behalf.
Flag State Performance Table: Published annually by ICS measuring flag-state performance.

G

GISIS Casualty Module: Database of marine casualties under Casualty Investigation Code.
GISIS PSC Module: Database of inspections and detentions.

H

High Risk Ship (HRS): Risk profile under Paris MoU NIR.

I

IACS: International Association of Classification Societies, 12 members.
ICS: International Chamber of Shipping, industry body.
III Code: IMO Instruments Implementation Code, mandatory under SOLAS, MARPOL, Load Lines, Tonnage 1969, COLREG, and STCW.
IMO Audit (IMSAS): Mandatory state audit under SOLAS XIII and similar provisions.
Indian Ocean MoU: PSC regime for the Indian Ocean region.
Internal Audit: Required by ISM Code 12.
INTERTANKO/INTERCARGO: Owner associations advocating compliance standards.

L

Letter of Compliance (LOC): Sometimes issued by USCG for foreign vessels engaged in OCS activities.
Lloyd's List Intelligence: Maritime intelligence service used for compliance screening.

M

Mediterranean MoU: PSC regime for the Mediterranean.
Member State Audit: See IMSAS.
MoU on PSC: Regional Memorandums of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris, Tokyo, Vina del Mar, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Abuja, Black Sea, Riyadh).

N

New Inspection Regime (NIR): Paris MoU risk-based inspection scheme since 2011.
No More Favorable Treatment: Principle in MLC Article V(7) and MARPOL Article 5(4) preventing favorable treatment of non-party ships.

O

OCIMF: Oil Companies International Marine Forum, owner of SIRE.
OFAC: US Office of Foreign Assets Control, administers maritime sanctions.

P

Paris MoU: Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, 1982.
Performance List (Flag/RO): Paris MoU annual list categorizing flags and ROs as White, Grey, or Black.
Port State Control (PSC): Inspection of foreign-flag ships in port to verify convention compliance.
PSCO: Port State Control Officer.

Q

Quality Management System (QMS): Required of ROs under the RO Code, MSC.349(92) and MEPC.237(65).

R

Recognized Organization (RO): Class society or other entity acting on behalf of the flag state.
Recognized Security Organization (RSO): Performs port-facility security tasks under ISPS Code.
Red Ensign Group: Group of UK and British dependent flags coordinating standards.
REMPEITC-Caribe: IMO regional center for pollution response.
Renewal Survey: Survey at intervals not exceeding five years.
RightShip: Vetting and risk-management platform for dry bulk and other sectors.
Riyadh MoU: PSC regime for Gulf Cooperation Council region.
Rule 5 (PSC): Common clear-grounds basis for expanded inspections.

S

Safety Management Certificate (SMC): Issued to ships under ISM Code.
SCV Code: Caribbean Small Commercial Vessel Code, recognized by IMO.
Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Service (SRPS) Certificate: Required under MLC Regulation 1.4.
SIRE 2.0: Ship Inspection Report Programme, OCIMF, transitioned from VIQ7 to a behavior-based program in 2024.
Statement of Compliance (DCS/IEE): Issued for MARPOL Annex VI DCS and IEE verification.
Sub-Standard Ship: Ship whose hull, machinery, equipment, or operational safety falls below applicable conventions.

T

Targeted Inspection: PSC inspection prioritized by risk profile.
THETIS: EMSA-operated PSC database used by Paris MoU.
THETIS-EU: PSC tool for EU directives such as Directive 2009/16/EC.
THETIS-MRV: EMSA database for EU MRV reports.
TMSA: Tanker Management and Self-Assessment, OCIMF self-assessment tool, current edition TMSA 3.
TMSA Element: 13 elements covering management areas from leadership to environmental performance.
Tokyo MoU: PSC regime for the Asia-Pacific.
Type Approval Certificate: Issued by a class society or flag administration for equipment.

U

UN Sanctions: Sectoral or country sanctions enforced through Security Council resolutions.
USCG: United States Coast Guard, US flag and PSC authority.

V

Vina del Mar Agreement: Latin American PSC arrangement.
VIQ7: Vessel Inspection Questionnaire 7 under SIRE, replaced by SIRE 2.0 question set in 2024.
VRP/NTVRP: US Vessel Response Plan / Non-Tank Vessel Response Plan under OPA 90.

W

White List (Paris MoU): Flags with low detention ratios.
White List (STCW): IMO list of parties giving full and complete effect to STCW Convention.

Y

Y3 Audit Cycle: IMSAS audit cycle within the seven-year IMO audit framework.

Explore the Regulation, Law, Compliance and Governance portal