The Roundtable of International Maritime Organisations casts the guidelines as a means to encourage flag states to improve their performance, but they include a list of 12 countries that score a dozen or more negative indicators.
Flag states listed with 12 or more negative marks include Albania, Belize, Bolivia, Cambodia, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Jordan, Madagascar, Sao Tome & Principe, Suriname and Syria.
“Ship operators may wish to consider carefully whether the use of flags that have a large number of negative performance indicators is in the interest of either the company or the industry at large”, the guidelines say.
They point out that legally compliant shipping companies may face higher numbers of port inspections and expensive delays if they fly the flag of a suspect state.
The Roundtable notes that flag states are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of international maritime regulations and a body of labour laws and pollution compensation agreements. If a flag state lacks inspection and crewing departments, “it is possible that the flag’s only effective function may be the collection of registration fees”.
Jon Whitlow of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which has campaigned against flags of convenience for half a century, welcomed the shipowners’ initiative, but was disappointed that the guidelines did not include non-maritime obligations such as the application of criminal law.
The federation has criticised the use of the Liberian flag, for instance, saying revenues funded the regime of former president Charles Taylor. Liberia scores just one negative mark on the Roundtable’s checklist.
Publication of the guidelines comes as the UN’s International Maritime Organisation appears to be making progress on an audit scheme for flag states. The process had been frustratingly slow until a year ago.
The wreck of the Bahamas-flagged tanker Prestige and consequent oil spills along the Galician coast last year persuaded recalcitrant states that a scheme was inevitable, said IMO delegates in London yesterday.
By Toby Shelley, The Financial Times
