In its annual PSC report for 2020 released earlier in May, the USCG provided an update on its QUALSHIP 21 program, which ended calendar year 2020 with 3,283 vessels enrolled (compared to 2,936 in 2019). By the end of 2020, 137 ships received the E-Zero designation, more than double the number of last year with 51 ships.
The Quality Shipping for the 21st Century program, or QUALSHIP 21, recognizes and rewards vessels, as well as their owners and Flag Administrations, for their commitment to safety and quality.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
In 2017, USCG introduced a new designation within the existing QUALSHIP 21 program called E-Zero. The E-Zero program focuses on environmental stewardship and worldwide compliance with international environmental conventions. Qualifying ships receive a special E-Zero designation on their QUALSHIP 21 certificate. The E-Zero designation is intended to provide a higher level of recognition within the existing QUALSHIP 21 program.
For 2020, five flag administrations lost their eligibility while three additional flags became eligible, including Greece, Saudi Arabia, and Spain. In 2019, USCG had welcomed two additional flag administrations into the program with four losing their QS21 eligibility.
For the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, there are 23 eligible Flag Administrations for the QUALSHIP 21 Program:
In 2011, the Coast Guard created a list of Flag Administrations that have shown a commitment to excellence in their level of compliance with international standards, but do not meet the full requirements for QUALSHIP 21 eligibility. Specifically, they have not met the requirement of at least 10 PSC examinations per calendar year for the previous three years.
The list below contains Flag Administrations that have had at least three PSC safety examinations in each of the previous three years and have not been subject to any PSC detention in that same time period:
