ICS Releases Updated Flag State Performance Table
The International Chamber of Shipping has published its 2013-2014 Flag State Performance Table.
The ICS has updated the indicators it uses to evaluate flag states to reflect current Port State Control rankings procedures and the implementation of the Maritime Labor Convention this past August.
Director of External Relations Simon Bennett explains:
Those flag states that have not yet ratified the MLC, but had previously ratified ILO Convention 147, have now received a negative indicator on our Table with respect to ILO standards for the first time. But we hope and expect this situation to change this year as more and more flags finalise ratification of this core Convention before PSC enforcement of the MLC begins in earnest this August.
A quick comparison of the 2013 and 2012 tables shows that some flags affected by this change include Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Portugal (Madeira), Romania, and the United States. That said, the ICS says the "absence of a couple of positive indicators next to a flag in the table should not be seen as a serious concern":
They are only potential indicators and a flag with a solid row of ‘green squares’ should not necessarily be viewed as superior to another that is missing one or two ‘green squares’, for which there may be good reason. For example, a flag state may not have ratified a particular maritime Convention due to a conflict with its national law while nevertheless implementing the Convention’s main requirements.
“But if a flag is lacking a large number of positive indicators in the ICS table then shipowners may want to ask serious questions,” Bennett advised.
