LEGAL REGULATION OF PORT STATE CONTROL

Abstract

This article deals with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization for the legal regulation of Port State Control, which is an effective mechanism for ensuring the safety of navigation and protecting the environment from marine pollution from vessels. The need to strengthen control over ships by the port state is determined by the following circumstances – the aging of the world fleet, reduction of ship crews, complication of technical equipment and transportation technology. A necessary condition for the safety of navigation should be sufficiently complete and strict control in ports over the application of the provisions of international conventions on ships. The purpose of such control is to identify vessels that do not comply with current international standards and take the necessary measures (detention of a vessel in the port, termination of cargo operations, delay in departure) to correct the deficiencies. The legal basis for such control is the international conventions of the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization. Regional Organization of Port State Control – Paris Memorandum on Port State Control of Ships, was established in 1982 by 14 European countries to coordinate efforts to inspect foreign ships in European ports. The Paris Memorandum of Understanding Committee on Port State Control on 17 May 2010 at its 43rd session in Dublin, Ireland, finally approved the new inspection regime. A feature of the new inspection regime is the division of ships into three levels of risk: low, medium and high. The Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding (BS MOU) was established in April 2000. The member countries are Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. The scope of BS MOU is the geographical coverage of ports located on the Black Sea coast. Currently, the Port State Control procedure is carried out based on the requirements of IMO resolution A.1119 (30). As the experience of states that have acceded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions on the safety of navigation shows, flag states did not fully exercise control over compliance with and implementation of the convention requirements. As a result, there has been a significant increase in ship accidents, so further expansion and strengthening of control over ships by the port State of visit becomes an important task for IMO at present.