Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table 01.03.2025 16:57The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its annual Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table 2024/2025.
The world’s commercial ships operate in accordance with a comprehensive regulatory framework under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and detailed Conventions – regulating maritime safety, environmental protection and seafarers’ training and employment conditions – adopted by the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Under these global Conventions, it is flag state administrations which have primary responsibility for enforcing implementation and full compliance by ships, that sail under their flag, with IMO and ILO standards and regulatory requirements, augmented by a sophisticated global system of port state control (PSC).
Because shipping is a global industry, most shipping companies with ships in international trades have a choice with respect to the flag state with which they elect to register their ships. However, whilst there may be advantages to selecting a particular flag, it is vitally important that shipping companies have as much information as possible about flag state performance and are actively discouraged from choosing to use flag states that may not fully meet their international obligations.
This is the purpose of the ICS Flag State Performance Table which, for the past 20 years, has been updated annually using objective externally published data.
The Flag State Performance Table seeks to encourage shipowners and operators:
• To examine whether a flag state has sufficient substance before using it.
• To put pressure on their flag administrations to effect any improvements that might be necessary, especially in relation to safety of life at sea, the protection of the marine environment, and the provision of decent working and living conditions for seafarers.
How to use the Table
This Table summarises factual information in the public domain that might be helpful in assessing the performance of flag states. Sources are shown in the footnotes at the end of this report. The Table is not an official assessment of overall compliance, nor a ranking of flag states based on overall compliance.
Positive performance indicators are shown as green squares on the Table.
Like all datasets, the Table needs to be used with care. Where a flag state is missing a single positive indicator, in itself this does not provide a reliable measurement of performance. For example, a flag state might be unable to ratify a Convention due to conflict with domestic law but might nevertheless implement its main requirements. Equally, a flag state may not be listed on PSC ‘white list’ because it does not make any port calls in that PSC region.
However, if a large number of positive indicators are shown as being absent, this might suggest that performance is unsatisfactory and that shipping companies should ask further questions of the flag state concerned.
The Flag State Table and its criteria are not intended to be used for commercial purposes or assessments of the performance of individual ships that may elect to use a particular flag. It is only intended to encourage shipowners and operators to maintain an open dialogue with their flag administrations about potential improvements, which may be necessary for enhancement of safety and security of life at sea, protection of the marine environment and provision of decent working conditions for seafarers.
