A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Inmarsat and Fameline Holding Group (FHG), extending an existing strategic collaboration agreement between the firms with the goal of exploring joint initiatives across the maritime and energy sectors.

“The memorandum of understanding establishes a basis for discussions that we hope will expand what is already a strong relationship between Inmarsat and the Fameline group of companies,” said Damien Staples, Vice President, Wholesale, Inmarsat Maritime.

“We are pleased to see Fameline investing to expand and endorse the group’s strategy for growth, which aligns strongly with Inmarsat’s maritime and energy sector ambitions for always-on connectivity and digitalisation. We look forward to exploring new opportunities under this highly promising MoU framework.”

Headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, FHG is a network of organisations representing industries including maritime, satellite communications and energy, including satcom service provider One Net. The MoU aims to identify “mutually beneficial areas of cooperation”, bilateral trade opportunities and deeper strategic collaboration between the parties and key shipowners.

“Reaching the agreement with Inmarsat verifies the strong relationship our group companies, especially One Net, have had for more than 20 years. Moreover, it signals the beginning of an effort to intensify collaboration with Inmarsat in new fields throughout the FHG structure,” said Adamos Seraphides, CEO, Fameline Holding Group.

“We aspire to add more value to each other and develop and deliver innovative solutions for the maritime and energy sectors. We are very pleased that our relationship with a market leader such as Inmarsat is entering a new era.”

Denmark has topped the Paris MOU regional port state control authority’s white list of excessive performing flag states for the second 12 months operating.

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

Only six ships registered underneath the Danish flag have been detained between 2019 and 2021, out of 1,143 inspections over the interval.

Denmark is adopted by the Netherlands, Norway and the Bahamas within the efficiency rankings.

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

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

Estonia has been promoted to the white list from the gray list, with Morocco going the opposite manner. Morocco has fallen from the white list to now be the very best performer on the gray list.

Similarly, Egypt has fallen from the gray 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.

The Palau International Ship Registry’s (PISR), the world’s leading digital registry, has registered a significant rise in its ranking within the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (PMoU) Flag State performance list in the first half of 2022. As of 1 July 2022, PISR lies at the top third tier of the Grey List of flag states.

This rapid progress through the PMoU list is a result of PISR’s digital journey and organisation-wide dedicated to creating a leading registry for its customers and a sustainable registry for the industry. This was detailed in the annual report released at the 55th meeting of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding held on 14 June 2022.

This improvement marks an exceptional achievement for PISR – the transition process through the “rite of passage” in the regulatory lists of Paris and Tokyo has traditionally been much longer. Panos Kirnidis, CEO of the PISR stated that, “Our rate of progress is a testament to the combination of our own unique technology, our staff and the way they blend together. Within the last 5 years, PISR has achieved the most improvement within all the Flags in Paris MOU in record time, reaching Grey Listing in both the Paris and Tokyo MOUs.”

Celebrating 5 years at the helm of its European Head Office based in Greece, Kirnidis continued, “The past few years have been exceptionally challenging for owners and operators. They have had to keep up with tightening environmental regulations and requirements, followed by a pandemic which brought other issues as well as a crew change crisis which led to increased pressures and demands. At PISR, we were ready to help. Our unique digital solution was in place to meet the needs of our clients and this helped them in a commercially viable and sustainable way.”

A key area of focus for the registry was the development of its in-house Deficiency Prevention System (DPS), which supports owners and operators in avoiding financially damaging detentions while at the same time ensuring safer and more efficient voyages. Kirnidis added, “The DPS is our own internally-developed software system, combining technology and the human element, which has successfully led to considerably minimising fleet detentions. It is simple to use, highly effective and accessible via a desktop or even a smartphone. The DPS has directly impacted our exceptional rapid rise up the Grey List ranks, and the journey does not stop here. We are continuously re-assessing and enhancing our strategy, adding talent and technical expertise to our team. This makes us confident that we will see even further growth and improvement in our listing in the years to come.”

PISR has a firm understanding of what owners need and that is reliable and dependable services, information in real time, and a proactive registry which is always one step ahead; all of which sit at the core of PISR’s mission. This is clearly evidenced by its successful journey so far and in being recognised as one of the world’s fastest growing and most innovative ship registries. Kirnidis concluded by saying, “We are determined to rise to the White List and we already have the strategy in place to achieve it. The future is digital and PISR will pave the forward via its creative and unique technology solutions combined with its expert team. We will continue to grow as a flag and do our part as a registry to contribute to the sustainable future of this industry.”
Source: Palau International Ship Registry’s (PISR)

TALLINN – The committee of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) at its 55th sitting approved the results of the 2021 inspections as well as the new tables for flag states in which Estonia once more has a place among the white list.

Estonia was on the white list of Paris MoU from 2007 to 2021 after which the flag for Estonia declined to grey or medium level, due to a drop in the number of inspections as a result of the coronavirus, according to the Estonian Transport Administration

The Paris MoU lists are drawn up annually and are valid from July 1. The lists are based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period. Using the number of inspections, the thresholds for detentions are calculated and if the flag state exceeds a certain threshold, it is placed in the corresponding list.

The black list consists of flag states the vessels of which are detained in foreign ports most often, whereas on the white list are the states with the smallest share of vessels detained.

Paris MoU has 27 member states and its activities are based on the 1982 Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control. The objective of the organization is to improve maritime safety, prevent pollution and ensure decent living and working conditions aboard ships.

The participating states must ensure that foreign-flagged ships are inspected in accordance with uniform principles in order to prevent the passage of non-compliant ships in European seas and the North Atlantic.

The organization consists of 27 participating maritime administrations and covers the waters of the European coastal states and the North Atlantic basin from North America to Europe. The headquarters of Paris MoU is situated in The Hague in the Netherlands. Estonia has been a permanent member of the organization from 2005.