The international shore connection is a universal hose connection that is to be provided on all ships as per the IMO SOLAS requirement. The purpose of the International Shore Coupling is to keep a standby hose attachment to get a connection from shore or from other ships for shipboard fire fighting, in case there is a total failure of pumps onboard.

The international shore connection flange has a standard size and is same for all the countries and ships to ensure that if the ship faces an emergency out of the home port, fire fighting assistance from any port is always available.