Guidance for the enforcement of marpol annex i during port state control examinations

Having established through investigations that a number of recent violations of the provisions of MARPOL Annex I were attributable to malfunctioning equipment, bad maintenance or a deliberate attempt to cut operational costs, the United States Coast Guard has issued Guidance to Port State Control officers on the conducting of vessel inspections and expanded examinations and the procedures for detaining vessels under MARPOL Annex I.  The intention is to ensure consistent application and enforcement of the provisions of the MARPOL Convention throughout the various Coast Guard areas.