European port states, Canada downgrade Brazilian, Taiwanese flags

European port states, Canada downgrade Brazilian, Taiwanese flags    The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control, a vessel safety grouping of 15 European countries plus Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation and Slovenia, have downgraded the Brazilian and Taiwanese flags to their “black list” after a high proportion of ships with these two flags were found to be substandard.
   The black list now comprises 21 flag states, five less than last year. Ranked in decreasing order of risk, the high risk flags on the black list are: Albania, North Korea, Tonga, Bolivia, Honduras, Lebanon, Comoros, Algeria, Cambodia, Slovakia, Georgia, Syria, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Turkey, Belize, Egypt, Ukraine, Romania, Taiwan, Brazil and Panama.
   “Most flags that were considered ‘very high risk’ in 2003 remain so in 2004,” the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control group said in a statement. “The poorest performing flags are still Albania, North Korea, Tonga and Bolivia.”
   Brazil and Taiwan have moved from the “gray list” to the “black list.”
   “Ships flying a ‘black listed’ flag run a risk of getting banned from the region after multiple detentions within a certain period,” the group said.
   The grouping’s “white list” of safe flags includes 31 flag states, two more than last year. The white list represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record. Germany, Isle of Man, the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden are placed highest in terms of performance. New to the white list are Philippines, Malaysia, Barbados and Cayman Islands.
   More information on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control can be found at www.parismou.org .