New Inspection Regime for Port State Control in the Paris MoU Region To Begin January 1st

Significant changes in the port State control system will take effect on 1 January 2011 in the European Union, and by extension the Paris MoU region. The new initiative is aimed at rewarding good-performing ships, and targeting poor-performing ships. It forms part of the 'third maritime safety package' adopted by the European Parliament in March 2009.

The countdown is on. There are only weeks until the New Inspection Regime (NIR) of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (PMoU), which has considerable consequences for ship operators and owners, starts being applied on 1 January 2011. The legislation behind the new scheme, Directive 2009/16/EC on port State control, entered into force on 17 June 2009, and applies to all Member States of the European Union, plus Norway and Iceland as part of the European Free Trade Agreement. The text of the Memorandum has been revised accordingly, allowing the same Regime to be applied by all members of the Paris MoU.

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