Malta’s maritime authorities will have to start giving more information about the inspections they carry out on ships visiting Maltese harbours under new EU rules expected to come into force next year.

Although already obliged to inspect 25 per cent of all the ships that enter harbour, the authorities will now have to start sharing the information on these inspections with the other EU member states following the introduction of a set of new rules just approved by the European Commission.

This information will also be published in an online register, with the EU intending to name and shame underperforming ships, companies and member states.

According to the EU Executive, there will not only be EU wide harmonisation of port state control inspection standards under the new regime, as currently exists, but there will also be, for the first time, a fully co-ordinated system of all the port state safety inspections carried out in the EU.

The new system will rely on an advanced information tool known as Thetis, operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency. The system will track all safety inspections on ships carried out in ports in the EU and provide a risk analysis, which will determine the frequency and priorities for inspections. The regulations adopted by the Commission specify the criteria for assessing the risk profile of ships using company and flag state performance. This will allow for a more effective targeting of high risk ships and companies with low safety performance.

It is estimated that over 80,000 individual ships call in EU ports. Malta is considered to be a maritime giant in the EU as it has the second largest shipping register following Greece.

Welcoming the approval of the new maritime regime, Transport Commissioner Sim Kallas said that more transparency in this sector would showcase companies with strong safety records, giving them a competitive advantage.

“The register will also put poor performers in the spotlight so that, with tougher inspection regimes and public pressure, there is every incentive for them to raise their game rather than face a ban from EU waters,” he said.