Denmark has topped the Paris MOU regional port state control authority’s white list of high performing flag states for the second year running.

The Paris MOU’s white list represents flag states with the least number of detentions per inspection over a three-year rolling period.

Only six ships registered under the Danish flag were detained between 2019 and 2021, out of 1,143 inspections over the period.

Denmark is followed by the Netherlands, Norway and the Bahamas in the performance rankings.

The Marshall Islands, which ranked at number three in the Paris MOU’s white list in 2020, has fallen to number 15 on the list in 2021.

Panama, the world’s largest flag state, ranks number 36 on the white list.

Estonia has been promoted to the white list from the grey list, with Morocco going the other way. Morocco has fallen from the white list to now be the best performer on the grey list.

Similarly, Egypt has fallen from the grey list onto the black list of high-risk flag states. The worst ranked flag state on the Paris MOU’s black list is Cameroon with 15 detentions out of 69 inspections.

Top performers

The top four performers on the Paris MOU’s white list of recognised organisations remains the same.

ABS heads the list of classification societies followed by DNV, Lloyd’s Register and ClassNK.

The Paris MOU said the performance of recognised organisations had been steady in recent years.

“Compared to last year, the recognised organisation performance level is at a similar level. It is noteworthy that in the last two years no recognised organisations have been categorised as performing very low,” said Paris MOU secretary general Luc Smulders.