# Ναυτιλιακά Θέματα - Shipping Subjects > Shipping Forum > Port State Control >  Flag colour schemes

## Petros

Paris MoU Black-Grey-White list of Flag States published along with new class performance list

The Paris MoU Committee approved last month the 2006 inspection results and adopted a new flag state performance list (the so-called black-grey-white list) which will take effect from 1 July 2007. This is accompanied by new publication consisting of a performance list for Recognized Organisations (i.e. classification societies), which will be effective from the same date. This new information uses the same methods of calculation as the flag state table, but it only records those detentions that can be related to action under a class survey. 

These two listings, covering the period 2004-2006, are part of the material used by port states to calculate the target factors that dictate whether of not a ship merits an inspection. 

The 37-strong White List is three flag states bigger than last year, whereas the 16-strong Black List is two shorter - a trend in the right direction for ship safety.

Bottom of the pile are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Albania and Bolivia, with Belize and Morocco joining the Black List from last year's Grey List. However Taiwan, Turkey, Algeria and the Ukraine have moved from the Black List to the Grey List where they are joined by Azerbaijan which has slipped off the White List.

Top of the pile on the White List, which represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record, are the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland. They are joined on the White List by Estonia, Switzerland and the Islamic Republic of Iran moving up from the Grey List.

More information will be found in the Paris MoU's 2006 Annual Report, which will be published in July 2007.

Source: Intertanko

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## Petros

http://www.parismou.org/upload/anrep/anrep2006low.pdf

Source: www.parismou.org

The statistics are really interesting showing areas where vsls have the most deficiencies.

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## Petros

Fire safety as the major category of deficiencies. Concentrated Inspection Campaign on MARPOL Annex I, contributed to the increase of detentions compared to 2005.

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## Leo

Source: *BIMCO*

*Feature: Flag colour schemes*
By Andrew Guest 

Asking a flag if it is black, grey or white might well elicit the response “It depends where you are”. 

Flags are now regularly assessed and ranked by Port State Control (PSC) regimes around the word but the colour-coded rankings (from black to white via grey) continue to throw up some curious discrepancies. 

In the last few weeks both the Paris and Tokyo MoUs have published their lists, while the US Coast Guard (USCG) has issued the updated list of flags that qualify for inclusion in its Qualship 21 scheme, an equivalent white list. 

These annual events are usually accompanied by trumpet-blowing from those flags that top the white lists or have received the USCG seal of approval. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the same flags are silent when they suffer demotion or exclusion. 

Of the three, the USCG would appear to be the more demanding as the chosen are few, although the number has been increased to 21 this year, more than double the number two years ago. (The USCG adds the proviso that five flags’ inclusion is dependent on their submitting a flag-state self-assessment report to the International Maritime Organization). In contrast, the white list of the Paris MoU includes 41 flags, Tokyo’s 30. 

It might be expected that the three lists would be broadly similar, although any comparison has to take into account the differences that might affect the respective rankings. The most obvious factor is geography. Excluding the East Coast of Canada, the Paris MoU is dominated by European countries, while the Tokyo MoU encompasses Asia, plus Australasia and the West Coast of Canada. So, for example, three flags that appear in the Paris white list’s top 20 – Luxembourg (sixth), Finland (seventh) and Ireland (nineteenth) – do not feature at all in the Tokyo rankings, inclusion in which requires at least 30 PSC inspections in the previous three years. 

Flags whose ships tend to trade in one specific region where they are subject to the same PSC system can also find themselves unexpectedly downgraded when a rare excursion outside the normal trading area exposes them to a different inspection system. A solitary detention can then have serious repercussions. 

Different approaches to inspections might also explain some of the inconsistency. Paris and Tokyo use the same methodology for ranking flags in black, grey and white lists, with a percentage based on inspections and detentions. The USCG, in contrast, bases its rankings on detentions as a ratio based on ship visits. As well as the exclusive Qualship 21 scheme, the USCG also targets flags with high detention ratios. Another point to bear in mind when comparing the three main PSC regimes is that the US is a one-country system, while the other two are multinational and can only function through consensus. 

Last year also saw the two MoUs experience different detention trends. Tokyo reported a 19% increase in detentions to 1,530, while Paris reported a decline in numbers detained from 1,520 to 1,220 and said the detention rate appeared to have stabilised at 5%. In contrast Tokyo reported the detention rate had increased from 5.6% to 6.9%. 

While Tokyo noted that the “tonnage of aged ships” had increased as shipowners took advantage of strong demand last year to keep substandard ships operating, Paris warned that as operators cut costs there was concern “a relaxation in the regulatory regime by some flag states and recognised organisations could negatively impact on shipping”. Age is also of concern to Paris which noted that last year ships over 15 years accounted for 75% of all deficiencies. In the economic downturn it fears that ships’ working lives will be extended, resulting in greater levels of deficiencies. 

Bearing in mind the differences among the three regimes, it is striking how the same flag can be rated with apparent inconsistency. Belize, for example, is included in the latest Qualship 21 but appears on the black lists of both Paris and Tokyo MoUs. Six other flags in the US scheme – Barbados, Belgium, Gibraltar, India, Israel and Malaysia – feature in the Tokyo grey list, but five of those are on the Paris white list (Malaysia being the odd one out). 

Similarly, South Korea is in Qualship 21 and appears fifth in the Tokyo white list, but qualifies only for the Paris grey list. Only five of the top 20 on the Paris white list make the Qualship 21, compared with eight on the Tokyo. The most consistently rated flag is the UK which is third on both MOUs’ white lists, as well as being a Qualship 21 flag. In all, 15 flags appear on both white lists. 

Of the world’s top four flags by size Panama is on the Tokyo white list (at number 25) but is on the Paris black list and does not feature in Qualship 21; Liberia and Bahamas are in the top 20 of both MOUs’ white lists but not in the US scheme; and the Marshall Islands is the only one to feature in all three. 

Ironically, the US itself has been demoted from the Paris white list to the grey list on the strength of seven detentions in the 2006-08 period, but is 13th in the Tokyo White List with only one detention in the same period. This suggests either the fewer than 100 US-flag ships that trade internationally have been subject to different inspection systems or that they are more exposed to inspections in the Paris MOU area. 

It also gives rise to the question of how to reconcile the fact that the safety record of the US flag is deemed by another governmental organisation to have deteriorated, while the body that supervises the US flag continues to set high standards for other flags. A recent flag-state audit provides few clues. 

When it comes to safety it may well be the case there is no black and white, only grey. Counting the black blobs in the flag-performance list published annually by the Round Table of international shipping associations, which includes BIMCO, may prove a more reliable system. 


*Editor’s Note:* Andrew Guest is a freelance journalist. 

*Feature articles written by outside contributors do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of BIMCO.*

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## Altair

Kalimera sas!
Tha ithela na rotiso to exis:
Yparhei ananeomeni lista me tis lefkes - gkri - mavres simaies meta to 2007?
Apo tin empeiria ton karavion tis etairia poy doulevo, i Liberia einai poly synergasimi simaia kai ta prostatevei ta ploia tis. 
Ta Marshal Islands kai i Elliniki simaia pos einai sygkritika?

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## Leo

PARIS MOU ANNOUNCED NEW TARGETING LISTS

Publication%20Target%20lists%202008%20_final_.pdf

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## Altair

Thanks for your info!

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