On the final day of the meeting, the TEG elected a new Chair and Vice-Chair for the next three-year term. Previously, the technical expert group was chaired by Swede Dan Sarenius, with Suzanne Capper from the United Kingdom serving as Vice-Chair. They have now been succeeded by Prasad Panicker from the United Kingdom as Chair and Arne Karu, Chief Inspector of the Ship Unit of the Estonian Transport Administration, as Vice-Chair.
“Along with the invitation to the meeting held in Tallinn, all member states were asked to submit new candidates for the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair. As a result of the elections, it was decided that for the next three years the work of the group will be led by experts from the United Kingdom and Estonia,” explained the newly elected Vice-Chair, Arne Karu.
“Following the elections, the former Chair, Dan Sarenius, was thanked for his long-standing contribution. He has participated in all TEG meetings, of which 39 have been held to date. Over the years, he has served both as Vice-Chair and Chair of the working group,” Karu added.
In addition to the election procedures, the meeting addressed technical issues related to several guidelines and work processes. For all such matters, the TEG adopted positions to be submitted to the Paris MoU Port State Control Committee (PSCC) for approval or rejection, in cases where further discussion was deemed necessary.
“The three days during which the working group met in Tallinn were busy and highly productive. Several issues clearly extended the agenda beyond the planned schedule. With one exception, consensus was reached on all decisions,” Karu noted, adding that Estonia’s organisation of the meeting was praised by representatives of several countries.
The Paris MoU is an international organisation operating on the basis of various international maritime conventions. The objective of its member port state control authorities is to eliminate substandard ships from maritime traffic through rigorous inspections, thereby enhancing maritime safety and security. The organisation comprises 28 maritime administrations.
Estonia has been a full member of the Paris MoU since 2005. Since 2007, Estonia has been included on the organisation’s White List, indicating that the detention rate of ships flying the Estonian flag is among the lowest. In addition to the White List, Black and Grey Lists are also used for targeting purposes. For example, until 1998 Estonia was on the Paris MoU Black List, and from 1999 onwards remained on the Grey List for many years.
