The number of ships detained under the Paris MoU hit the highest level for a decade in 2022, with port authorities forced to take on a greater role in tackling substandard vessels.
The organisation’s annual report revealed that more than 4% of vessels were detained from 17,289 inspections and took a sideswipe at flag states, and the recognised organisations that carry out inspections on their behalf, for not playing their part.
Some of the most frequently recorded deficiencies in 2022 included problems with fire doors, seafarer contract issues and the cleanliness of engine rooms, the report said.
“While a direct link to Covid-19 cannot be easily established, it is concerning that the 2022 detention rate is the highest in 10 years,” the report said.
“This has increased the importance of port state control as a line of defence, where others — in particular shipowners, flag states and recognised organisations — fail to take their responsibility sufficiently.”
The report said detentions have declined slowly but steadily for years before the 2022 figures. The detentions represent 723 vessels but include some that were held more than once in the year.
“We hope, and in fact assume, that the chain partners in the maritime sector ... will also take measures to put a stop to this negative trend,” Paris MoU chairman Brian Hogan and secretary general Luc Smulders said.
The highest proportion of detentions was for ships flagged by Moldova, according to the figures, with 10 detentions of 32 vessels inspected — or 31%.
Cameroon was second on the list with 27% of vessels inspected. Vessels flagged by Tanzania, St Kitts & Nevis and Algeria all had detentions of ships above 15% of those inspected, according to the report.
The Paris MoU also reported a slight downward shift in quality of shipping as measured by its white, grey and black lists of flags. The list status is calculated based on three years of rolling data with at least 30 inspections during the period.
Dark fleet
White-list flags was down one from 2021 to 39, while nine flag states were black-listed in 2022, up from seven in 2021. The nine are Cameroon, Moldova, Algeria, Togo, Albania, Vanuatu, Sierra Leone, Comoros and Tanzania.
A number of those have been prominent in flagging the so-called “dark fleet” tankers, hauling sanctioned oil cargoes from Iran, Venezuela and Russia. They include Cameroon, Togo and Sierra Leone.
St Kitts & Nevis, which is on the grey list but was in the top five flags for detentions in 2022, dropped a number of vessels managed by India’s Gatik Ship Management earlier this year amid suspicions of sanctions-busting linked to Russian oil shipments.
The inspections in 2022 marked a return to normal operations after two years of lower activity, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Paris MoU agreement includes 26 European coastal states and Canada. Russia is currently suspended from the organisation because of its invasion of Ukraine.
