The Paris MoU has published its 2014 Annual Report, which records refusal of access of ships, ranks flag states in three categories according to their performance and monitors the performance of Recognised Organisations (ROs).
Refusal of access (banning) has been used 63 times since 2012. Most cases involved ships which have been banned for multiple detentions (46), while a significant number (13) were banned for failing to call at an indicated repair yard. The remaining 4 cases involved ships which “jumped the detention”, by sailing without authorisation.
Over a three year period, the flags of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Moldova, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Togo have recorded the highest number of bannings. Four ships have been banned for a second time already. The m/v Mansour M (Moldova), m/v Carolyn (Tanzania), m/v Maxal Gita (Belize) and m/v Reni (Ukraine).
White, Grey and Black Lists
Considered to be the worldwide index for flag performance, the Paris MoU “White, Grey and Black Lists” indicate further improvements towards quality shipping.Last year, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland were congratulated for their efforts to move up to the “White List”. This year, India moved from the “Grey List” to the “White List”.
Spain, Lithuania, Poland and Thailand moved from the “White List” to the “Grey List”. Belize moved from the “Grey List” to the “Black List”. There are still 10 flags on the “Black List”, with the United Republic of Tanzania having the worst performance.
There are now 43 flags on the “White List”, 3 less compared with last year. France is still leading the list, followed by Hong Kong and Bahamas. Several flags have made a significant move upwards on the “White List” into the top 10: Bahamas, Isle of Man and the United States of America. Other flags have made a significant move downwards in the “White List” and are no longer in the top 10: Germany and Finland.
Performance of Recognised Organisations
Recognised Organisations (ROs) are delegated by flag States to carry out statutory surveys on behalf of flags. For this very reason, it is important to monitor their performance. The best performing RO over the period 2012-2014 was DNV GL, followed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
Inclamar is still at the bottom of the list in terms of poor performance, followed by the International Register of Shipping and Bulgarian Register of Shipping.
For several years, a joint submission with the Tokyo MoU to IMO has addressed the correlation between flags and ROs working on their behalf. Since last year, this information has been published in the Annual Report. The combinations of the Republic of Moldova with Dromon Bureau of Shipping and Venezuelan Register of Shipping, as well as Togo with International Naval Surveys Bureau and International Naval Surveys Bureau resulted each in a detention rate higher than 5% over a 3-year rolling period.
The full 2014 Annual Report can be downloaded here (PDF).
