Lithuania has managed to retain the White Flag list

For the seventh consecutive year, Lithuania has retained the White Flag, indicating that ships flying the Lithuanian flag meet high international standards for safe shipping. The list of White Flag countries was compiled on July 1 this year, following the entry into force of the updated Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris Memorandum).

As in previous years, Lithuania retained its 34th place on the list of White Flag countries. Among the Baltic countries, Estonia lost its position, falling from 28th to 33rd place this year. Latvia, which lost its White Flag status last year, remained in 44th place on the Grey List this year. There are a total of 40 countries on the White Flag List.

Based on established indicators, countries’ fleets can be placed on one of three lists: white flag, gray, and black. This year, there are 40 countries on the White List, 17 on the Gray List, and 12 on the Black List. The position on the White List is calculated according to a specific formula, in which the most important indicators are the number of ship inspections and the number of ships detained in foreign ports over the last three years.

It is easier for countries with larger fleets to maintain a high position in the Paris Memorandum list. Our country’s relatively small fleet is inspected less frequently, so even a single detained ship can have an impact on the overall rating, as was the case this year and last year,” says Linas Kasparavičius, Senior Advisor to the Water Transport Department of the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA).

The larger the fleets of countries, the more often they can be inspected. The more frequently a country’s ships are checked and the inspections are successful, the less impact each detention has on the country’s ranking. The less frequently a country’s ships are inspected, the greater the impact of even one or a few detentions on the rankings. Countries are included in this list if ships flying their flags are inspected at least 30 times.

This year, the period from 2022 to 2024 was assessed. During this period, Lithuanian ships were inspected 100 times in various ports. Lithuania’s position on the Paris Memorandum list was determined by a ship flying the Lithuanian flag that was detained in Italy in December 2024. Nine deficiencies were recorded on the ship, which were later rectified, and after a repeat inspection, the ship was allowed to sail. Ships flying the flag of a country on the White List are not subject to bans on entering Paris Memorandum ports due to detentions. This year’s new list of countries has been shortened from 71 to 69 compared to previous years. Changes are also observed among the countries at the top of the White List – after several years, Denmark has ceded the top position to France. Norway ranks third, the Netherlands fourth, and Singapore fifth. The Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) are in sixth place, Finland in seventh, Italy in eighth, Luxembourg in ninth, and Japan in tenth. Ukraine (64th place) and Moldova (67th place) remain on the blacklist among European countries.

The Paris Memorandum was signed in 1982. Full members of the Paris MOU are all European Union coastal countries, Canada, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Montenegro. The Russian Federation’s membership has been suspended due to the war in Ukraine. Lithuania became a full member of the Paris Memorandum in 2006.

In Lithuania, ship inspections in ports are carried out by the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration. Last year, ship inspectors inspected 277 foreign ships and identified 583 deficiencies related to non-compliance with international safe shipping requirements and seafarers’ working and living conditions on board. Four ships (from Cyprus, Cameroon, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Marshall Islands) were detained for non-compliance with safe shipping requirements. Traditionally, most of the inspections were carried out on ships flying the flags of Cyprus, the Netherlands, Malta, Norway, the Marshall Islands, Liberia, and Panama.

Information from the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration