Port State control has been an increasingly important feature in the field of maritime
safety over the past few years, and several IMO resolutions have been adopted on this
subject. These resolutions have now been amalgamated into resolution A.787(19), which was
adopted by the IMO Assembly in 1995 and which constitutes a large part of this
publication. The publication also includes a list of addresses of national
Administrations, valid as at January 1997.
The resolution is intended to provide basic guidance on the conduct of port State
control procedures and to afford consistency in the conduct of such inspections, in the
recognition of deficiencies of a ship, its equipment and its crew, and in the application
of control procedures. Member States have been requested by the Sub-Committee on Flag
State Implementation to ensure that a copy of chapter 2.5 (General Procedural Guidelines
for Port State Control Officers) of this book is made available to all of their port State
control officers.