• International Certificates: Tonnage, Load Line, Safety Construction, Safety Equipment, Safety Radio (or combined Cargo Ship Safety Certificate), IOPPC, IAPPC, ISPPC, NLS, EE (Energy Efficiency), AFS, BWM, MLC/MLC Certificate and DMLC Part I & II, ISM DOC & SMC, ISSC (ISPS), Minimum Safe Manning, Certificate of Registry/Sea-worthiness, Class certificate, radio licence, and Medical/STCW endorsements for crew.
• Statutory plans/records: Fire Control Plan, muster list, SOPEP/SMPEP, Garbage Management Plan & Garbage Record Book, Oil Record Book, BWM Plan & Record, NOx Technical File, SEEMP, ballast water records, VDR/records, chart/ECDIS corrections, GMDSS log, crew list.
• ISM records: internal audit reports, drill records, near-miss/incident reports; master's review; maintenance records; emergency exercise records.
• Certificates/endorsements of crew: COC/COP/STCW endorsements, medical fitness certificates; rest-hour records; seafarer employment agreements.
• Logbooks/records: official log, engine log, watchkeeping records.
• Down/defects and testing records: emergency generator test, steering gear test, lifeboat/lifesaving inspection and servicing (life raft/EPIRB/SART dates), radio log, fire-fighting equipment service, OWS records, cargo records on tankers (cargo handling, COW, gas monitoring, SIRE vetting if relevant).

• Immediately comply and rectify the deficiency; inform the shipowner/superintendent and the DPA (ISM); put in place a corrective action plan.
• Where the deficiency is rectified, request and obtain a re-inspection/departure clearance from the PSC authority; the port State should lift the detention when satisfied.
• If the detention is unjust/unreasonable, invoke the right of appeal/redress under national/municipal law and under the relevant MOU's complaint/appeal procedure; request a re-inspection by a higher authority and keep detailed records/photos/evidence.
• Report to the flag State, which may intervene; and where the matter touches classification, request the RO surveyors to verify and provide certificates.
• Lodge a formal written appeal to the port State Administration; many MOUs (e.g. Paris, Tokyo) have an appeal mechanism and an information database so the matter is transparent.
• Ensure a post-mortem/root-cause analysis is done and the SMS updated so recurrence is avoided, and the information is used to strengthen ISM compliance.

Note: genuine deficiencies should be corrected; an appeal is appropriate only where the detention is demonstrably unreasonable or disproportionate, and it does not remove the obligation to make the ship safe.