Flag, Class and Port State ControlLesson 4 of 6
Port State Control and your lifeboats
What port State inspectors look at around the lifeboats, what the Tokyo MOU figures show, and how to be ready.
13 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026 · Reviewed by the Lifeboat Inspections technical team
In plain words
When a ship arrives in a foreign port, an officer from that country may come on board to check that it is safe. This is Port State Control, or PSC. The officer is not the flag’s surveyor and not the class surveyor. They are there to decide one thing: can this ship go to sea safely?
Lifeboats are near the top of their list. In the Asia-Pacific region, life-saving appliances are the second-largest group of problems found, and “lifeboats” is one of the most common reasons a ship is held in port.
An inspector does not need special tools to find a lifeboat problem. They look at the hooks, the falls, the davit and the engine. They read the log-book and the service reports. They may ask the crew to show a drill. A ship that does the weekly and monthly checks honestly, and keeps its papers in order, has little to fear.
Key points
- Before the ship leaves port, all life-saving appliances must be “in working order and ready for immediate use” (SOLAS III/20.2).
- In 2025 the Tokyo MOU recorded 11,818 life-saving appliance deficiencies out of 90,168, the second-largest category after fire safety (Tokyo MOU Annual Report 2025).
- “Lifeboats” was the third most frequent detainable deficiency in the Tokyo MOU region in 2025, with 152 cases (Tokyo MOU Annual Report 2025, Figure 8).
- In the 2019 campaign on emergency systems, 74 of the 2,098 witnessed fire or abandon ship drills in the Tokyo MOU region were not satisfactory (Tokyo MOU CIC report, Q9).
- The weekly inspection must include the hooks and the on-load release gear “being properly and completely reset” (SOLAS III/20.6.1).
- Service reports must be signed, countersigned and kept on board for the life of the equipment (MSC.402(96) §5.1–5.2).
Continue this lesson free
The full lesson, the interactive tool “Inspect a boat station as PSC would” and the check are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all three courses.
Sources
- Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region 2025Tokyo MOU, 2026
- Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region 2024Tokyo MOU, 2025
- Report of the 2019 Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Emergency Systems and ProceduresTokyo MOU, February 2021
- Paris MoU Annual Report 2025Paris MoU, 2026
- Paris and Tokyo MoUs launch 2026 CIC on Cargo SecuringParis MoU, 2026
- Adoption of amendments to SOLAS 1974 (new chapter III)IMO resolution MSC.47(66), 4 June 1996
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/19, III/20 weekly and monthly inspections)IMO resolution MSC.152(78), 20 May 2004
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/20.4 falls)IMO resolution MSC.216(82), 8 December 2006
- Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gearIMO resolution MSC.402(96), 19 May 2016
- Amendments to MSC.402(96) (ventilation system)IMO resolution MSC.559(108), 23 May 2024
- Amendments to the LSA Code (hook reset, lowering speeds)IMO resolution MSC.554(108), 23 May 2024
- Adoption of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) CodeIMO resolution MSC.48(66), 4 June 1996
- Survival Craft, Rescue Boat and Launching Appliances – Testing, Servicing and MaintenanceLiberia Marine Notice SAF-005, Rev. 07/26
Free awareness training. Lifeboat Inspections is not authorised to issue training certificates, so none is given, and this course is not a qualification. It doesn't replace STCW survival craft training, manufacturer training or MSC.402(96) technician certification. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.