GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman
The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry’s (Cayman Registry) commitment to quality, along with its excellent ship safety and pollution prevention record, has once again earned it recognition across all major international Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on Port State Control.
The flag has maintained its White List, low-risk status on both the Paris and Tokyo MOU’s for the 16th and 12th consecutive year respectively. These MOUs collectively encompass the waters of the European coastal states, the North Atlantic basin and the Asia–Pacific region.
The main objectives of the memoranda are to establish an effective port state control regime in the respective regions through the cooperation of its members, harmonizing of the members’ activities and eliminating sub-standard shipping. It deals mainly with promoting maritime safety and security, protecting the marine environment through the prevention of pollution by ships, and safeguarding seafarers’ living and working conditions onboard ships.
Member states re-affirm their commitment to enforce the provisions of all relevant international conventions and ensure that inspection procedures are in place to identify those vessels which are not in compliance with their obligations, and to adopt enforcement procedures against defaulting vessels, including the power to detain vessels.
The White, Grey and Black Lists present the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. They are based on the total number of inspections and detentions during a 3-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period in each region.
The White List represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record. Flags with an average performance are shown on the Grey List. Flags at the lower end of the Grey List risk ending up on the Black List the following year, and should be careful not to neglect control over their vessels in order to avoid this.
Each Flag State is rated on the performance of the vessels flying its flag during Port State Control Inspections. Being on the White List means that Cayman flagged vessels have received one of the lowest detention ratios, and for vessel owners this translates to fewer delays while in port at any of the member authorities. It also brings confidence and security to both the owners of Cayman Islands vessels, and the seafarers who serve on them.
Attaining the highly prestigious accolades across the major international Port States is thanks to Cayman Registry’s commitment and willingness to remain on top of all relevant developments from those relating to environmental protection and seafarers’ rights, to maritime safety and security.
"Achieving low-risk status across all the major international Port States demonstrates the Cayman Registry's commitment ot the quality of the fleet on its Register, some 2,320+ vessels, ranging from yachts through bulk carriers to tankers." says Mr. A. Joel Walton, CEO of the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (parent organization of the Cayman Registry). "They speak to the dedication of the Registry and its partners who strive to maintain White List, low-risk status by continuing to uphold international standards pertaining to shipping."
“These accolades bring significant benefits to vessels flying the Cayman flag and the Cayman Registry is very happy to, once again, accomplish these qualifications.” he continued, “It is a testament to the hardworking team of the Registry, along with our partners for maintaining an outstanding safety and quality record for the Cayman Flag.”
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