Paris and Tokyo MOUs Are Running a Joint Cargo Securing Inspection Campaign This Autumn — Here's What Actually Gets Checked

What's Happening

From 1 September to 30 November 2026, Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU are running a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on cargo securing. A CIC means Port State Control officers across both regimes are specifically briefed to focus on one topic during routine inspections for a set period – this time, whether cargo, containers, and cargo securing arrangements actually comply with the Cargo Securing Manual and relevant IMO requirements, not just whether the paperwork exists.

Why This Topic, Why Now

This isn't a topic picked at random. ABS's own Quarterly Port State Control Report for Q2 2026 shows fire safety as the single dominant detention theme across ABS-classed vessels this year, but cargo-securing-adjacent findings – water/weathertight condition, general operational discipline, and what the report itself calls “equipment readiness, procedural discipline and crew familiarity” – sit close behind. A joint two-regime CIC of this kind typically follows exactly this pattern: PSC data across a season shows enough live risk in one area that both MOUs agree to focus their inspection effort there together.

What Inspectors Will Actually Check

Based on how previous CICs have been structured, expect PSC officers to check: the Cargo Securing Manual is on board, approved, and matches the actual securing arrangement in use (not a generic or outdated version); lashing and securing equipment is in good condition, correctly stowed, and available in sufficient quantity; securing arrangements for the specific cargo carried are actually in compliance, not just plausible-looking; and – the point most relevant to individual crew – whether deck officers and crew can demonstrate real familiarity with the vessel's own securing procedures, not just recite that a manual exists somewhere.

Five Readiness Checks Before Your Ship Gets Boarded

1. Confirm the Cargo Securing Manual aboard is the current approved version for this vessel, not an old edition still sitting in the drawer.
2. Walk the actual securing arrangement against the manual before departure – not from memory, from the document.
3. Check lashing gear condition and quantity matches what the manual specifies for the cargo currently aboard.
4. Make sure deck officers can explain the securing arrangement for the current cargo to an inspector, in their own words, not just point at the manual.
5. Log securing checks as part of routine departure procedure, so there's a real record an inspector can review, not just a verbal assurance.

What a Detention Under This CIC Would Cost You

A CIC-driven detention isn't just a delay. It goes on the vessel's PSC record, affects the company's risk profile with future inspections, and – per ABS's Q2 report – sits alongside a pattern where detention risk correlates less with vessel age than with “equipment readiness, procedural discipline and crew familiarity” combined. That's a finding squarely aimed at what happens on deck, not just what's logged in the office.

Test Your Knowledge

Think you've got this covered? Put it to the test in Crew Connect's free Knowledge Checker — try a quick cargo round and see how you score.

Related Reading

• ABS's Q2 2026 PSC report – the fire safety and crew familiarity findings behind this campaign