Press release
28 July 2016
LAUNCH OF CONCENTRATED INSPECTIONCAMPAIGN ON MLC,2006
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch aConcentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
(MLC,2006). The aim of the CIC is to verify that the minimum standards for workingand living conditions have been implemented on board. This inspection campaign will
be held for a period of three months, commencing from 1 September 2016 andending 30 November 2016.
The ship’s procedures and measures that are in place with respect to MLC,2006 will
be checked in detail for compliance with the requirements during a regular Port State
Control inspection.
Secretary General Richard Schiferli stated: “Working and living conditions on board
have always been a prime area of attention. With the introduction of the MLC
enforcement opportunities have greatly improved. Three years after the entry intoforce, the time is right to focus on the MLC during a concentrated inspectioncampaign”.
Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a list of 12 selected questions to ensurethat the required certificates and documentation are present, in particular thoserelated to the seafarers on board. Additionally there are questions aimed atverification of records of the inspections of the accommodation, food and catering,
and whether a safety committee has been established.
When deficiencies are found, actions by the port State may vary from recording a
deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period of time todetaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified. In the case ofdetention, publication in the monthly detention lists of the Paris MoU web sites willtake place.
It is expected that the Paris MoU will carry out approximately 4,500 inspections
during the CIC.

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The results of the campaign will be analyzed and findings will be presented to thePort State Control Committee. The CIC questionnaire on MLC, 2006 is also
published on the Paris MoU website (http://www.parismou.org/)

Contact
Mr. Richard W.J. Schiferli
Secretary General Paris MoU
on Port State Control
PO Box 16191
2500 BD The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)70 456 1509
Fax: +31 (0)70 456 1599
E-mail: Richard.Schiferli@parismou.org
Web-site: www.parismou.org

Notes to editors:
Regional Port State Control was initiated in 1982 when fourteen European countries agreed to coordinate their port State inspection effort under a voluntary agreement known as the ParisMemorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU). Currently 27 countries aremember of the Paris MOU. The European Commission, although not a signatory to the Paris MOU,
is also a member of the Committee.
The Paris MoU is supported by a central database THETIS hosted and operated by the European
Maritime Safety Agency in Lisbon. Inspection results are available for search and daily updating byMoU Members. Inspection results can be consulted on the Paris MoU public website and are
published on the Equasis website.
The Secretariat of the MoU is provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and theEnvironment and located in The Hague.

Port State Control is a check on visiting foreign ships to verify their compliance with internationalrules on safety, pollution prevention and seafarers living and working conditions. It is a means ofenforcing compliance in cases where the owner and flag State have failed in their responsibility to
implement or ensure compliance. The port State can require defects to be put right, and detain theship for this purpose if necessary. It is therefore also a port State’s defence against visiting
substandard shipping.

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