Anarchy on high seas under flags of convenience

Thousands of ships plying the world?s oceans are effectively without nationality, enabling their owners to easily evade international laws and regulations says a new report from WWF, the conservation organisation and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

The murky system of registering vessels to countries offering flags of convenience (FOC) is fuelling pirate fishing in the world?s oceans and risking potentially catastrophic security and safety breaches. The report, Real and Present Danger: Flag State Failure and Maritime Security and Safety, cites examples of criminal activities by flags of convenience ships, including piracy, arms smuggling and people trafficking.

Dr Simon Walmsley, Head of Marine at WWF-UK says: “Flags of convenience countries often exercise little or no control over how ships registered to fly their flags operate. At a time when our oceans are facing multiple pressures from climate change, oil and gas developments, and overfishing, the last thing these countries should be doing is

turning a blind eye to illegal activities.”

Flags of convenience ships dominate lists focussing on sub-standard shipping, poor safety, maltreatment of crew, and pollution of the marine environment. The report also raises concerns about the persistent flag state offenders associated with illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, worth an estimated US$1.2 billion each year.

According to Lloyd?s Register of Ships, 318 large-scale fishing vessels are registered to Cambodia, Georgia, Mongolia, North Korea, Sierra Leone and Togo. Yet based on a review of data from relevant regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), none of these countries has any vessels authorized to fish in any of the areas on the

high seas regulated by these organizations. On the contrary, a number of fishing vessels from five of these six countries are currently “blacklisted” for having engaged in pirate fishing.

North West Spain was faced with an ecological disaster after the Prestige, a tanker laden with fuel oil broke up and sank. The vessel was officially registered to the Bahamas with a Liberian registered company as the owner. Only last year, the Liberian flagged cruise liner MS Explorer, sank in the Antarctic Ocean raising questions over the suitability of flags of convenience vessels to operate in such vulnerable regions.

“Without transparency of ownership on the FOC registers and flag states exercising effective jurisdiction over vessels flying their flag, FOC vessels will continue to plunder marine resources on the high seas with impunity,” said Miguel Jorge, acting Director of WWF?s Global Marine Programme.

The report is released as governments attend the 9th meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York. WWF is calling for the establishment of a UN Committee to negotiate a

new implementing agreement to UNCLOS – the legal framework governing the use of ocean space – that sets out enforceable measures to ensure flag States fulfill their responsibilities under UNCLOS and prevents States from operating vessel registers in breach of regulations and international agreements.