An in-depth analysis of port state control inspections: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review

Port State Control (PSC) is the inspection of foreign vessels by the host port to ensure compliance with the applicable international conventions. This review article provides a robust and systematic review of the evolution of studies on PSC inspections. A total of 117 pertinent studies were acquired from the Web of Science (WOS) database and subsequently subjected to analysis, using VOSviewer and R Biblioshiny software. The authors discovered the most relevant journals, articles, and authors, using the citation analysis method. By utilizing bibliographic coupling method to analyse key publications, the authors identify three research clusters, including (i) improved risk assessment schemes for vessel selection, (ii) impact of PSC inspections, and (iii) risk factors influencing PSC inspection outcomes. Furthermore, content analysis was carried out to reveal the emerging topics and provide insights for future research avenues.