Navigation, radio and VDRLesson 7 of 7
Navigation and radio equipment at port state control
You will know how a PSC officer inspects navigation and radio equipment, which findings can detain a ship, and how to handle a failure honestly and lawfully.
13 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026
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A port State control officer (PSCO) usually starts on the bridge. In a few minutes they can see whether the radars are running and the ECDIS charts are up to date, check the GMDSS log, ask the officer of the watch to show a test, and read the VDR and AIS certificates. If something important is missing or not working, the inspection can turn into a detailed one, and sometimes into a detention.
In 2024 the Tokyo MOU recorded 8,066 safety of navigation deficiencies and 1,244 radio communication deficiencies. The IMO Procedures for port State control, 2025, adopted by resolution A.1206(34) in December 2025 to replace the 2023 version, set out what PSCOs look for. This lesson walks through a bridge inspection and the decisions the master and officers make along the way.
Continue this lesson free
The rest of this lesson, the interactive A port State control officer on the bridge and the quiz are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all 14 courses.
In this lesson
- Try it: A port State control officer on the bridge
- In plain words
- In detail
- What the rules say
- Flag and class notes
- Key numbers
- What inspectors find
- Questions people ask
- Quiz: 6 questions
Sources
- 1 IMO Resolution A.1206(34), Procedures for port State control, 2025 (adopted 3 December 2025, revoking resolution A.1185(33)), section 2.4.2; appendix 2, section 5 (areas under SOLAS 1974 items 8 to 11 and 17; areas under STCW 1978 item 4); appendix 6, section 9; appendix 7, paragraph 5.1; appendix 12, items 5, 6, 21, 40, 41 and 42. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1206(34).pdf
- 2 Tokyo MOU, Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region 2024, overview and Table 7. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/ANN24-1.pdf
- 3 SOLAS 1974, as amended, regulation V/18.8 (as reproduced in IACS UI SC279), and IMO MSC.1/Circ.1222/Rev.1, annex paragraph 3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Safety/Documents/IMO%20Documents%20related%20to/MSC.1-Circ.1222-Rev.1.pdf
- 4 SOLAS 1974, as amended, regulation V/16.2, as reproduced in MCA MGN 610 (M+F), page 14. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f2140d3e90e071a603d33b3/MGN_610_2020.pdf
- 5 Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 610 (M+F), SOLAS Chapter V guidance, guidance on regulation 16. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f2140d3e90e071a603d33b3/MGN_610_2020.pdf
- 6 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1252, Guidelines on annual testing of the automatic identification system (AIS) (22 October 2007), annex paragraph 4; SOLAS regulation V/18.9. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Safety/Documents/IMO%20Documents%20related%20to/MSC.1-Circ.1252.pdf
- 7 Tokyo MOU, Report of the 2017 Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Safety of Navigation, including ECDIS, carried out jointly with the Paris MoU (November 2018), executive summary and Table 1. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/CIC-Safety-of-Navigation-including-ECDIS-Report-p.pdf
- 8 SOLAS 1974, as amended, regulation I/11 (maintenance of conditions after survey), as referred to in MCA MGN 610 (M+F), guidance on regulation 16. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f2140d3e90e071a603d33b3/MGN_610_2020.pdf
Free awareness training. Al Safwan Marine is not an approved training provider, so no certificate is given, and these courses are not a qualification. They don't replace STCW training, manufacturer training or the certification technicians need for this work. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.
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