The Sierra Leone Maritime Administration (SLMARAD) has achieved the best flag performance under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) to date, with the Registry now edging closer to the highly desirable White List following a marked improvement in Port State Control results for the 2023-2025 assessment period. The new rankings, based on inspections and detentions in the Paris MoU region during the three-year rolling period, are effective from 1 July 2026.
Over the assessment period, using the Paris MoU methodology, the Excess Factor for Sierra Leone-flagged vessels was 0.33, with 172 Port State Control inspections and only 10 detentions. That figure is a measurable step toward the highest tier of flag-state performance and reflects sustained improvement in fleet quality and regulatory oversight.
The Paris MoU classifications – White, Grey and Black Lists – are among the most closely followed indicators of flag-state performance in the shipping industry.
They assist shipowners, managers, charterers and insurers in assessing the regulatory oversight and safety performance of fleets through comparison of inspection and detention statistics between member jurisdictions. Under the Paris MoU rules, a four-year reduction in the three-year total of detentions would have been enough to get Sierra Leone onto the White List, demonstrating just how close the Registry is to achieving that benchmark.
Sierra Leone reduced the number of detentions compared to the previous assessment period, while maintaining a similar inspection volume, indicating that fleet improvements were not achieved at the expense of lower scrutiny. The result puts Sierra Leone ahead of several established registries also still on the Paris MoU Grey List, including Thailand, the Philippines, Egypt and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Improving Port State Control performance is not an overnight thing,” said Alexandros Stylianou, Technical Manager of SLMARAD. ‘It requires constant technical supervision, disciplined fleet management and a long-term commitment to quality. These results show that the measures we have put in place are producing measurable improvements and increasing confidence in the Sierra Leone flag.
Recent efforts to improve technical oversight have included better fleet monitoring, enhanced compliance verification and greater focus on quality management, SLMARAD said. The Administration stressed that these measures are part of a wider strategy to improve fleet performance and that shipowners benefit from a professionally managed and responsive flag administration.
“We are proud of this milestone, but our ambition goes beyond improving our ranking,” said SLMARAD’s Business Development Manager. “We aim to provide shipowners with a reliable and efficient flag administration that supports safe operations and full compliance with international maritime regulations. We will continue to build on this momentum as we work towards achieving White List status.”
Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, the body responsible for registering and regulating ships flying the Sierra Leone flag, reaffirmed its commitment to promoting compliance with international conventions and to supporting safe, secure and environmentally responsible shipping. The Administration also indicated that it will keep investing in measures that help lower-emission transportation as part of its dual goals of sustainability and commercial growth.
