Lithuanian, Russian Flags Join Paris MoU White List

The flags of Lithuania and the Russian Federation have been included in the white list of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU), the body’s committee said in the latest update.

The committee approved the 2018 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and recognized organizations at its 52nd meeting last month.

The updated lists are to take effect from July 1, 2019.

The 2018 list contains 73 flags, 41 on the White List, 18 on the Grey List and 14 on the Black List. Lithuania and the Russian Federation have entered the White List while Saudi Arabia has dropped to the Grey List.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, new on the Grey List is Vanuatu, which entered from the Black List. Bulgaria has become a non-listed flag.

The flag of Albania has dropped to the Black List. New on the performance list and to the Black List is Mongolia.

The “White, Grey and Black List” presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. The list is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a 3-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in that period.