Over the past 3 years most ships have been banned for multiple detentions (46). Five ships have been banned a second time. A signifi cant number of ships (5) were banned for failing to call at an indicated repair yard.

The one remaining case involved a ship which “jumped the detention”, by sailing without authorization. Over a 3 year period the fl ags of the Republic of Moldova, the United Republic of Tanzania and Togo have recorded the highest number of bannings. Looking at the Paris MoU “White, Grey and Black Lists” the overall situation regarding the quality of shipping seems to be stabilizing. Although some flag States have changed lists, the total amount of 42 flags on the “White list” is similar to 2015 (43).

This year there were no new entries to the “White List”. The Republic of Korea moved from the “White List” to the “Grey List”. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines moved from the “Black List” to the “Grey List”. Palau and Vanuatu moved from the “Grey List” to the “Black List”. In 2016 there were 12 flags on the “Black List” (11 in 2015), with the Republic of the Congo having the worst performance. Recognized Organizations (ROs) are delegated by flag States to carry out statutory surveys on their behalf.

For this very reason, it is important to monitor their performance. For several years a joint submission with the Tokyo MoU to IMO has addressed the correlation between flags and ROs working on their behalf. The results are published in the Annual Report as well.

It is useful information for the industry that would like to stay clear of the risk of sub-standard shipping. After a slight decrease of the total number of inspections in 2015 to 17,877 the number has decreased again very slightly in 2016 to 17,840. Since 2011 (the start of the NIR) the average detention percentage had slightly increased annually until 2013 (3.78%), after which a significant decrease has been recorded for 2014 (3.38%) with a same level in 2015 (3.41%).

This year, however, an increase to 3.83% has been recorded. The highest level since the introduction of NIR. The level of detainable deficiencies is increasing as well to 3,769, a 7.3% increase compared to 2015.

Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russian Federation, Germany and France contributed most to the overall inspection ežorts in terms of percentage, together over 51%. High Risk Ships have been operating mostly in the southern part of the region, while Low Risk Ships have been calling in the north-western part of the region.

With 1,213 inspections and 227 detentions the ships flying a “black listed flag“ score a detention rate of 18.7%, which is considerably higher than the 11.2% in 2015 and 11.7% in 2014. For ships flying a “grey listed flag” the detention rate is 5.5%, which is significantly lower than 8.6% in 2015.

For ships flying a “white listed flag” the detention rate is 2.6% which is at the same level as 2015 (2.5%) and 2014 (2.4%). The 5 most frequently recorded deficiencies in 2016 were “ISM” (4.4%, 1838), “fire doors/openings in fire-resisting divisions” (2.6%, 1078), “nautical publications” (2.5%, 1049), “charts” (2.2%, 922) and “oil record book” (1.7%, 706). These are consistent with 2015.