Russian flag is on the verge of shifting to the medium performance list of Paris Mou
The flag of the Russian Federation runs the risk of shifting from the White list to the Grey list of the Paris MoU, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Denis Ushakov, deputy head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), as saying at the joint meeting of Rosmorrechflot’s Board and Public Council.
According to the speaker, new method is to be introduced for ranking flags under the Paris MoU: White, Grey and Black lists are to be replaced with the lists of High, Medium and Low performance.
“The information system of port state control already applies the new method for calculation of the Russian flag performance under the three MoUs (Tokyo MoU, Paris MoU and Black Sea MoU - Ed.). With the new calculation method the flag of the Russian Federation would be currently ranked Tokyo MoU as a flag of medium performance having retained its high performance rank in other MoUs. However, it should be noted that our position in Paris MoU is between the high and medium level while it is not clear how the inspections are changed following the pandemic. The situation should be monitored closely”, said Denis Ushakov.
As of today there are three organizations recognized for ship survey and classification in Russia: Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, RINA and Berau Veritas.
“Detention of Russian ships in foreign ports will directly affect the performance of those classification societies”, said the official adding that detention statistics of three-year long period is taken into consideration.
Established in 1982 Paris MOU is intended to eliminate the operation of sub-standard ships through a harmonized system of port State control The current member States of the Paris MoU are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Since the first regional PSC agreement was signed in 1982 (the Paris MoU), IMO has supported the establishment of eight other regional PSC regimes, achieving a global maritime network. The areas of responsibility of the nine regional regimes cover the waters of the European coastal States and the North Atlantic basin from North America to parts of Europe and the north Atlantic (Paris MoU); Asia and part of the Pacific Ocean (Tokyo MoU); Latin America (Acuerdo de Viña del Mar); Caribbean (Caribbean MoU); West and Central Africa (Abuja MoU); Black Sea (Black Sea MoU); the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea (Mediterranean MoU); Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean MoU); and Persian Gulf (Riyadh MoU).