The Cyprus Ship Registry is one of five flags to lose its place in the US Coast Guard (USCG) Qualship 21 programme, which recognises port-state-control (PSC) excellence.
According to the USCG’s latest PSC annual report, Cyprus will fall off the upcoming Qualship 21 list along with the British Virgin Islands, Croatia, Thailand and Switzerland.
The Cyprus Ship Registry said 2020's inspection figures had been affected by the pandemic.
"Qualship 21 is an initiative the Cyprus Registry appreciates and applauds. The system is based on a three year rolling average detention ratio," the flag said.
"Due to the reduced number of US port calls resulting from the pandemic, and the small number of detentions during the year 2020, the performance ratio during the 2018-2020 rolling window was moderately lower than in previous periods."
But the registry said it remains "wholly committed" to safety and environmental standards noted that it is on the “white list” of the Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU and other port-state control bodies.
There are 23 flag states included in the latest Qualship 21 programme, which will run from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.
Qualship 21 is intended to incentivise quality operations by reducing PSC inspections for ships operating under recognised flags.
It is based on a three-year rolling assessment of PSC performance.
The three new entrants to Qualship 21 are Greece, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
The Marshall Islands was named on Qualship 21 for the 17 consecutive year.
“Our owners, operators and fleet operations teams work closely to ensure high levels of compliance while also implementing new technologies to create a sustainable future for our industry,” said Bill Gallagher, president of International Registries Inc, which manages the Marshall Islands flag.
But there is no place on the list for the Liberian Registry, shipping’s second-largest flag, or the largest, Panama.
Both have been listed on the USCG's list of medium-risk flag administrations.
Narrowly missed out
Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry chief operating officer Alfonso Castillero said it had narrowly missed out on a placing, and has appealed against some detentions that are now under review.
He said the Liberian Registry had improved its detention average by 73% over the past three years and expected to make it onto the Qualship 21 list next year.
The USCG said there was a marked decline in detentions and inspections in 2020 as a result of the global pandemic.
It added that 7,383 inspections were carried out at US ports in 2020, compared with 8,622 in the previous year. Detentions also fell from 102 in 2019 to 57 last year.
Assistant commandant for prevention policy Rear Admiral Richard Timme said the fall was due to a drop in port visits by foreign-flag vessels during the pandemic.
“There was a noticeable decrease in vessel arrivals to the US, which correlated to an overall decrease in the number of exams and resultant deficiencies and detentions,” he said.
