47th Session of Paris MOU is being held in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Minister of Transport and Communications says in its press release. The Session will last until May 23, 2014. The representatives of 28 countries (EU Member States, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Russian Federation), European Commission, other regional agreements (the Tokyo MOU, the United States Coast Guard, the Caribbean MOU, the Mediterranean MOU, the Riyadh MOU, the Vina del Mar MOU) and international organizations (International Maritime Organization and International Labour Organization) are participating at the session.
The participants of the Paris MOU session are set to discuss issues related to the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention adopted in 2006, as well as to discuss the issues related to the New Inspection Regime introduced in 2011. The results of Harmonized Verification Programme on operational safety of passenger ships (HAVEP) will be analyzed as well.
“Since the adoption of Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) in 1982, it made an important contribution to maritime safety, pollution prevention and improvement of living and working conditions on board ships sailing through the seas of Paris MOU Member States. The mission of regional cooperation under the Paris MOU is to prevent substandard ships entering the port of a Member State. We share the same planet, therefore, global problems that we face can be solved only by joint efforts”, - Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Arijandas Šliupas addressed the participants of the Paris MOU Committee.
In 2006, Lithuania became a Member State of Paris MOU. At that time, Lithuanian ships were listed on Paris MOU Grey List. Nowadays, Lithuanian ships are recognized as having high international standards and enjoy the status of being on the Paris MOU White List. Paris MOU White List eases the burden on the shipping business; ships are seen as more trustworthy and inspected less.
Furthermore, Lithuania seeks to ensure that ships entering Lithuanian port and terminal comply with international maritime safety and pollution standards. Over the past years, the Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration port state control did 157 inspections and stopped four substandard ships.