The Paris MoU has published its 2024 Annual Report.
The detention rate for 2024 has seen an increase, reaching 4.03% compared to 3.81% in 2023. This rise marks a continuation of a consistently high detention percentage observed over several years, including 4.25% in 2022. The Paris MoU will closely monitor this trend in the coming years to assess its implications.
The analysis highlighted a consistent pattern of non-compliance in familiar areas, demonstrating persistent challenges for the industry. Notably, fire safety (SOLAS Chapter II-2) remains a prominent concern, accounting for 17.2% of recorded deficiencies. This is closely followed by structural and electrical elements of the ship and electrical installations (SOLAS Chapter II-1) at 11.3%, and issues related to health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection (MLC Title IV), recorded at 10.4%. At a more granular deficiency level, problems with fire doors (3.2%) and Seafarers’ Employment Agreements (1.5%) continue to show high rates of non-compliance.
Furthermore, deficiencies related to the International Safety Management (ISM) Code were recorded in 4.6% of cases, indicating a continued need for vigilance in safety management systems. In 2024, the number of refusals-of-access (bans) issued remained consistently low, totalling 15. This figure appears stable when compared to recent years and continues to be significantly lower than the levels observed in the pre-COVID period, indicating a sustained positive trend in compliance.
Flag performance
The White, Grey and Black (WGB) List presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions during a 3-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in that period. In terms of flag performance, there are no major shifts compared to the previous year. Although the detention rate is relatively high, the distribution of flag States across categories (White, Grey and Black) has not changed substantially.
Recognized Organizations performance
For several years, the Committee has maintained close oversight of the performance of Recognized Organizations (ROs), acting on behalf of flag States. The methodology for assessing RO performance utilises the same formula as that for flag States. To be included in this performance list, an RO must have a minimum of 60 inspections over a three-year period. In 2024, a total of 29 ROs were included in the performance list, a slight decrease compared to the 32 ROs included in 2023. Considering the performance of ROs, no concerning trends indicating a significant deviation from previous years performance has been identified. A positive observation is that the number of ROs in the lowest performance category remains small.
Read the report: Paris MoU 2024 Annual Report