The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is continuing its crackdown on substandard shipping. The country’s Federal Transport Authority issued a circular yesterday demanding that as of January 1 next year ships flying 25 different flags that are due to call in UAE waters must be classed by a member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) or Tasneef, the UAE’s own class society.
The 25 flags are a mix of the Paris MOU’s Black and Grey Lists.
During much of the shipping downturn, the UAE became a dumping ground for distressed shipping assets, but in the past couple of years the authorities have taken a number of measures to improve the situation in local waters.
Tankers over the age of 25 are no longer allowed to call, for instance. Also of note is how much the UAE has done to stamp out cases of crew abandonment. In May this year the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the FTA signed a groundbreaking memorandum of understanding to work together to protect the rights of all seafarers operating in UAE waters. The UAE has blacklisted many shipowners who have been found guilty of neglecting their crew in the past year.
