Paris MOU Rankings – A look at what’s “Caught in the Net”

A few months back we did an article here on the blog titled American Flag Turns Gray – New Paris MOU Rankings Target US Ships.  The article sparked some good discussion on the forum as to exactly what the Paris MOU does and what it means for the average mariner.  Thankfully, c.captain came to rescue with this response:

The Paris MOU is basically a list maintained by the worlds major port states that indicates which flag states have the safest (white list), average (gray) and worst (black) ships.

What this means for the average joe on a gray or black ship is that there is a better chance that the ship will be boarded by port state control authorities especially if that ship has not been to that port ever before or at least for a long time.

The disussion then pointed us to the Paris MOU’s website to some real “ships of shame”.  Here is a look at just a few of the vessels that have been “Caught in the Net“.

M/V CARIB VISION
IMO 7636561

Port of Detention: Three Rivers, Canada

Grounds for detention became evident during a boat drill: the portside lifeboat was lowered with some difficulty and the embarkation ladder for the lifeboat let go in three sections when it was rolled out and thrown over the shipside.

When the time came to retrieve the port lifeboat and stow it back in, the fall wire broke at the forward end of the davit, leaving the lifeboat suspended by the stern and hanging only on the after hook.

FULL DETAILS (PDF)

M/V EEC Atlantic

IMO 7616339

Port of Detention: Hamburg, Germany

43 deficiencies of which 9 were considered as ground for detention, for example:

• Frames of watertight doors corroded and not watertight
• Some manholes not watertight closed, lots of bolts missing
• Overboard outlet with insufficient temporary repair by rubber tapes and wires

FULL DETAILS (PDF)

M/V SUNLIGHT-BEY
IMO 7619525

Port of Detention: Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain)

25 deficiencies, out of which 6 were considered as detainable deficiencies including:

• Corrosion problems were found all over the ship, affecting deck plates and pipes.
• Fire fighting appliances were either missing or not operative and in very poor maintenance condition in general, with leakages through the connection valves in the main line and in the hoses.
• Lack of maintenance of the launching arrangements for life saving appliances was also appreciated during the inspection.

FULL DETAILS (PDF)

M/V CAPTAIN BLUE
IMO 7902520

Port of Detention: Port of Kefalonia Island

20 deficiencies, with most of them of a serious nature resulting in a detention as follows:

• Cargo ship safety and LL Certificates / Expired
• Abandon Ship Drills / Lack of training
• Distress flares missing
• Ropes of Lifebuoys in poor condition & lights out of order

FULL DETAILS (PDF)

While we are generally big advocates of getting out and a sailing a rust bucket, hopefully you won’t ever find yourself aboard anything this bad.  Be sure to check out Paris MOU’s full list of vessels that have been “Caught in the Net” HERE.