Thanks to the good compliance with the International Conventions by ships flying the National Flag, Portugal, in 2020, rose two places and has just progressed in the statistics of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the performance of the Flag States, within this important region of Port State Control (PSC).

The Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services (DGRM), as the National Maritime Administration, is pleased with this result and thanks the efforts of all involved parties, from the outset, the DGRM's own Flag Inspectors, the Commission RIN-MAR technician, the Recognized Organizations with a protocol signed with Portugal and the Shipowners themselves.
Portugal is on the White List of the Paris MoU, which includes the flags with the best performance, having risen to 24th position in 2020, thus following the path of growth of recent years, that is, 26th, 27th and ranked 30th, in the rankings for the years 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

In the ranking that will take effect from the 1st of July, in a total of 70 flags considered, 39 are on the White List (there were 41 a year ago), 22 on the Gray List (16 in 2019) and nine on the Black List (13 in 2019). The last two lists are the ones with the worst performance, with the Flags listed in the Gray List being considered risky and those in the Black List being considered very high risk.

This national positioning results from the results of inspections carried out by the PSC on ships flying the Portuguese flag, when they demand ports in the 27 Member States subscribing to the aforementioned Paris MoU, which covers a region that encompasses the waters of the European coastal States and the Atlantic basin North, from North America to Europe, including the Russian Federation.

The assessment is based on the total number of inspections and detentions in the last three years, considering the brands with at least 30 annual inspections. In the Portuguese case, there were 1,152 inspections and 30 arrests carried out by PSC inspectors in foreign ports of Portuguese flag vessels.

The maintenance of the Portuguese position in this Ranking is due to the good compliance with International Conventions by ships flying the Portuguese Flag, both at the level of the ship itself and of its crews. Thus, it is of utmost importance that Portuguese Flag ships continue, at least, with this level of compliance, and it is important that all parties involved continue to work for a constant improvement and greater rigor in this matter, so that Portugal continues to progress in this classification.

Within the scope of the PSC, inspectors from countries subscribing to the Paris MoU carry out over 17,000 inspections per year on foreign ships. The objective is to eliminate ships operating below quality standards, through the implementation of a harmonized PSC system, to ensure that all comply with international standards of safety and environmental protection, and that crew members have living, healthy conditions. , adequate social and labor protection.

In Portugal, PSC inspections of SOLAS ships flying a foreign flag are carried out by DGRM inspectors in national ports, a factor that is also of utmost importance for this ranking of the Paris MoU.

More details at: https://www.parismou.org/2020-performance-lists-paris-mou