Member States shall take all necessary measures, in order to be legally entitled to carry out the inspections referred to in this Directive on board foreign ships, in accordance with international law.

Member States shall maintain appropriate competent authorities, to which the requisite number of staff, in particular qualified inspectors, for the inspection of ships is assigned, for example, through recruitment, and shall take appropriate measures to ensure that inspectors perform their duties as laid down in this Directive and in particular that they are available for carrying out the inspections required in accordance with this Directive.