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1. Prior to allowing a ship which has been granted the right to fly its flag to operate, the Member State concerned shall ensure that the ship in question complies with the applicable international rules and regulations, including safety, social and environmental standards. Measures may be taken by a recognised organisation, acting on behalf of the Member State, when it has been duly authorised by the competent authority to do so. In particular, the Member State concerned or the recognised organisation acting on its behalf, as applicable, shall verify the safety records of the ship using, where available, the flag State inspection reports and certificates contained in its own database or, for Member States that have opted to use the ship information database referred to in Article 6a, in that database. The Member State concerned shall, if necessary, consult with the losing flag State in order to establish whether any outstanding deficiencies or safety issues identified by the latter remain unresolved.

2. Whenever another flag State requests information concerning a ship which was previously flying the flag of a Member State, that Member State shall promptly provide details of outstanding deficiencies and any other relevant safety-related information to the requesting flag State.