
July 4 ------ European marine inspectors continue to find detention-worthy deficiencies aboard visiting ships at a higher rate than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Paris MoU on Port State Control's annual report. In 2023, the average detention rate across the group's member states came to 3.8 percent - slightly less than in 2022, but much higher than the 2.9 percent rate in 2019, the last year before COVID-19. The number of outright ship bans has declined compared to the pre-COVID period.Â
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The evaluation and ranking of the world's flag states - the Paris MoU's best-known product - remains similar to last year, with the largest open registries ranked in the middle of the "white" and "gray" lists. Denmark leads the pack with a detention rate of just under one percent, and Cameroon ranks last at 28 percent, sharing the bottom-most designation of "very high risk" with Tanzania. Â
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The newly-emerging flag of Gabon - a registry that has been discovered by the Russian "shadow fleet" and has attracted considerable attention - has had too few inspections in Europe to be ranked this year. About thirty others fall in the same category, like Mongolia, Nigeria, Tuvalu and Equatorial Guinea. Â
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The Paris MoU noted one important change for 2023: Montenegro's maritime authority has joined the PSC consortium at last, closing a potential loophole for substandard shipping to enter European waters. "Ships with cargo destined for mainland Europe now have virtually no choice but to discharge that cargo in a port falling within the scope of the Paris MoU. This means that these ships are subject to the risk-based inspection methodology of the Paris MoU," the organization said. Â
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Source: maritime-executive.comÂ
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