By the late 1980s, the number of blatantly substandard ships entering our ports threatened our commerce and environment. As a result of this trend, the Coast Guard began a concerted port state control effort in 1994. Coast Guard port state control officers examine about 25 percent of foreign ships entering U.S. ports. To make best use of limited time and resources, the Coast Guard uses a boarding priority matrix to assign the highest priority to ships that present the greatest risk. The matrix is constructed around the past performance of each ship's flag state, classification society, operating company, ship type, and the ship's prior enforcement history.
Transparency is one of the program's main objectives.
When a substandard ship is detained, the Coast Guard makes details available on the internet to alert shippers to potential risks associated with shipping on the substandard vessel. The Coast Guard's port state control program is a world-class model that ensures substandard ships do not endanger U.S. waterways.