Paris Memorandum Report 2021

• Yachting

On July 1, 2022, the Report for 2021 was published at the official website of the Paris MOU. The Paris MOU Report (hereinafter referred to as the Report) sets out the ranking of state flags depending on the number of inspections and detentions by port authorities of vessels being suspected of violating navigational safety standards. State flag in one or another list reflects reputation and prestige of the state, the government whereof is called upon to monitor compliance with international law provisions on navigation safety. The Report includes three lists of flags, namely White List, Gray List and Black List, where White List includes flags with the fewest detentions and arrests, while Black List contains flags with the most ones. In one of our previous notes, we examined in detail history and purpose of the Paris MOU.

Hereby we set below the main shifts in the ranking of flags for 2021.

For the second year in a row, Denmark tops the White List, followed by the Netherlands and Norway – this is the top three. The Cayman Islands shifted from the ninth to the twelfth place in the White List, showing a slight increase in detected violations by vessels flying this flag. For the Marshall Islands, 2021 turned out to be more difficult, so the Marshall Islands shifted from the third to the fifteenth place in the White List. Malta and Panama show stability and moved down the list by 1-2 positions only. Almost everybody knows about prestige and convenience of the UK flag, while in 2021 the United Kingdom, with a slight downward shift,

retains its permanent place in the White List. Estonia and Saudi Arabia also promoted to the White List this year; both topped the Gray List in 2020.

Morocco currently tops the Gray List. Position of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines remains almost unchanged, showing a slow trend to improvements. Palau shifted from the sixtieth to the forty-eighth place in the Gray List, showing a significant decrease in detected violations by vessels flying this flag. Poland, despite large popularity of this flag, moved down seven positions in the Gray List, while Ukraine has risen three positions from the last place in the Gray List, which cannot but rejoice and shows desire of our country to control over compliance with maritime safety standards.

Egypt currently ranks first in the Black List, having moved down 5 positions from the Gray List. Moldova and Togo are in the Black List for the second year in a row, showing a large number of vessel detentions and violations.

Navigation safety directly depends on proper and prompt compliance with all regulations of international standards. While choosing a vessel registration flag, special attention should be drawn not only to registration terms, cost of registration fees, but also to the flag prestige level and the flag state control over compliance with international standards on navigation safety, so that shipowner could get indemnified against unscheduled port inspections.

Valeriia Fetysenko

fetysenko@interlegal.com.ua

Mariia Ktrichian

ktrichian@interlegal.com.ua