Denmark at the top of the safety list – Sweden in 15th place

Ships under the Danish flag are the best at adhering to international regulations on maritime safety and security. This is according to the Paris MoU’s white list, where Sweden is ranked 15th. "It’s obviously not good, we used to be in the top three," says Dan Sarenius, port state coordinator at the Swedish Transport Agency.

This morning, a Danish article landed in Lighthouse newsmonitoring inbox: “Danish shipping in first place for the fourth year in a row” read the headline. It then stated that a waving Dannebrog at the stern of a ship signals high quality and compliance with international regulations on safety, environment, and seafarers' safety and working conditions on board – something that, according to the article, is continuously documented in international compilations in the field. This time it was jubla

the Paris MoU, which compiles the results of port state controls across Europe and publishes in three lists: white, gray, and black. Out of around 70 countries, Denmark tops the clean white list.

Sweden have done it before. In 2016, we were the best, and for many years, the Swedish average placement was three on the white list. But in recent years, it has gone worse. Both in 2022 and 2023, Sweden ranked 20th, and this year we have moved up to 15th place.

"We should, of course, be higher. It’s essential that the classification societies do a good job. If they don’t, the Swedish flag suffers. We simply have to follow up and see why it has turned out this way. We have people out now who continuously follow up on the work at each classification society."

According to the Paris MoU, 325 inspections have been conducted on Swedish ships between 2021 and 2023, resulting in five detained ships. This can be compared to Danish-flagged ships, which underwent 1,250 inspections leading to 12 detentions.

"For small fleets, each individual detention has a significant impact, while countries like Liberia, Panama, and Malta, which have an enormous number of ships, can get away with hundreds of detentions," says Dan Sarenius and continues:
"We have many prominent and skilled shipping companies, such as the West Coast-based Furetank. If they had any problems during inspections, they could lose enormous contracts. It’s unthinkable for them to end up in such a situation."

Others are not as prominent and thorough. The 38-year-old dry cargo ship Sofia, owned by Fiducia Rederi AB, was noted for 27 deficiencies and detained for ten days in Kalundborg, Denmark, in March 2022, while the 68-year-old charter vessel M/S Bergsund received 15 deficiencies and was detained in Haugesund, Norway, for six days in January 2023.

After Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, and Italy follow on the white list, while Cameroon, Tanzania, and Moldova are at the bottom of the black list.

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