The United States Coast Guard once again recognises the quality of The Bahamas Flag

The Bahamas has once again been recognised by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) through its Qualship 21 programme (Quality Shipping for the 21st Century). The Flag’s consistent adherence to quality ensures its continued high-ranking performance.

The USCG ‘Qualship 21′ list recognises the quality of Bahamas registered ships, their owners, managers and crew, operating to and from United States ports.  The Bahamas always strives for zero detentions and in 2020 it had just two out of all the US port state inspections of Bahamas flagged ships – this brings The Bahamas’ 3-year rolling average detention ratio in the USA to 0.35%, well below the Qualship 21 qualifying criteria of 1.0%. In fact, The Bahamas is at the top of the so-called ‘White-list’ within the port state control regimes of the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU.

Captain Steve Bomgardner, BMA’s Regional Director & Global Business Development Director, said: “We are delighted with this achievement and would like to thank all of our Owners, Managers and crew onboard Bahamas registered ships whose keen attention to quality has made this possible.  It is key for The BMA to be recognised as a leading flag within the United States and the figures released by the US Coast Guard underline the excellence of our service and our ships.”

It’s not only The BMA team that have been instrumental in this achievement but also its Recognised Organisations and Nautical Inspectors.  Of equal importance are the shipboard  crew of Bahamian ships who, despite the challenges of COVID-19, have all played their part in maintaining and operating the ship and its equipment to the required standards. The support and advice that The BMA provides to Owners to assist them with port state control and regulatory compliance issues, as well as the regular flag state inspections, statutory audits and surveys of the fleet that are undertaken, ensure their ships comply in all respects with the international conventions and so uphold the reputation of The Bahamas.

Stephen Keenan, BMA’s Deputy Director, Head of Inspections & Surveys, is delighted with The BMA’s performance. “Our detention ratio is the best of all the open registries and is testament to our clients and our team.  I would also like to recognise the invaluable role played by the USCG in keeping vessels and crew safe in US waters through the application of stringent safety criteria.”