The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has rated DR Congo as the worst flag state in the world.
In a ICS 2023/2024 Shipping Industry Flag State Performance report released this week, DR Congo chalked up 11 negative indicators across a total number of 18 to sit at the bottom of the table.
Comoros had second largest number of negative indicators with 10 out of 18. Along with Comoros the ICS noted Togo and Algeria as continuing to record a large number of negative indicators, “highlighting the need to encourage shipowners and operators to examine whether a Flag State has sufficient substance before using.”
Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom – many of the largest flags – all had positive indicators across all 18 performance categories.
Among smaller flag states ICS noted that Costa Rica, Egypt, Mexico, and Thailand all showed improvement in the number of positive indicators.
“The information in this year’s highly anticipated ICS Flag State Performance Table continues to be positive, with notable improvements in several areas including governments’ attendance at IMO meetings. It is a positive development that this year’s ICS Flag State Performance Table shows that smaller Flag States have shown improvements in performance.
“The table also shows that, unfortunately, a number of Flag States continue to record large amounts of negative performance indicators which Flag States must address, for the benefit of the entire shipping industry,” ICS Secretary General, Guy Platten, said.
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