Fewer and fewer commercial ships flying the red-and-black flag are anchoring in Albanian ports.
Although the number of marine vessels with Albanian owners is not small, they prefer to register their ships in other ports in Europe or the world.
“Currently, around 40 ships of tonnages up to 6,000 tons are owned by Albanian citizens,” mechanical engineer Albert Garori told BIRN, adding that only seven of them are registered in the Albanian Maritime Registry.
Sector specialists say that abandoning the national flag is mainly due to lower registration fees in alternative ports, but not only that.
This decision is also influenced by the technical conditions of the ships, which has forced international maritime institutions to blacklist Albanian vessels.
According to the catalog "The Sailors", written by historians Valter Bedini and Luan Shabani, after the privatization process of the Navy in 1998, 57 ships were listed in the Albanian Maritime Registry. By 2012, their number had dropped to 15.
The Albanian Maritime Registry functions as the official authority that certifies and maintains under the Albanian flag merchant ships, fishing vessels and other navigational vessels, requiring them to have complete ownership documentation, technical certifications and mandatory safety inspections.
Registration is carried out at the General Maritime Directorate, where the ship's classification, technical condition and compliance with international conventions, which are drafted and supervised by the World Maritime Organization, IMO, are verified.
The IMO has drafted a series of conventions aimed at two main goals: increasing navigation safety and protecting the environment.
To increase navigation safety and environmental protection, problematic ships - on the black list - are subject to international inspection every six months, while those on the gray and white lists are inspected much less frequently, every 18 or 36 months.
“IMO – a UN agency – has blacklisted our country due to the danger our ships pose during navigation,” engineer Met Ypi, who has worked extensively on fleet ships and in the management of the country’s maritime institutions, told BIRN. “Flag-changing is done all over the world, mainly for economic reasons,” he added.
Engineer Met Ypi is very critical of the work of the Maritime Registry, not only for the limited number of Albanian ships flying the national flag, but also for the complete lack of foreign ships that could be registered in the Maritime Registry.
To avoid frequent controls, Albanian ship captains carry out economic activities mainly on the coasts of North Africa, where periodic controls are not serious.
"They make transit voyages and come very rarely to Durrës; they even change personnel in the ports of the Southern Mediterranean," said engineer Ypi.
Not only is the number of ships flying the Albanian flag declining, but so is the number of sailors.
“The number of certified Albanian seafarers is declining, as captains and crews are easily filled with foreign sailors, who are paid less,” said engineer Albert Garori.
He adds that the closure of the shipyard has negatively affected the ability to repair ships in Durres, increasing costs that are higher in other ports.
Garori estimates that maritime institutions in the country are almost non-existent in the face of concerns.
"Unfortunately, in our country, detailed controls are not carried out and no duties are imposed on the living conditions of seafarers or navigational safety," he stressed.
The age of over 20 years and the technical condition of the ships constitute another concern for navigation safety.
"Ship owners usually choose the flag of their vessels themselves, but Albanian maritime institutions should, at least, offer the alternative of registration in well-known ports for the dignified certification of all our ships," concluded engineer Met Ypi. /BIRN/
