IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS THROUGH PORT STATE CONTROL - AN ASSESSMENT

The institution of port state control has attracted widespread attention as an effective mechanism for implementing international maritime conventions. The paper examines the implementation of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and the 1976 Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention under the 1982 Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control. In seeking to eliminate substandard ships through a regional campaign to enforce relevant conventions, the Paris MOU has been a costly process that has achieved only qualified success. However, the experience of cooperation within the regime has produced remarkable results which demonstrate the broader possibilities of port state control.