The flag hoisted by a ship indicates the nationality of the ship. Ships on the high seas are under the exclusive jurisdiction and protection of the flag State. Stateless ships are regarded as pirate ships on the high seas and are not protected by any country.
In practice, some countries allow foreign-owned ships to fly their national flags, so some foreign ships often buy the national flags of these countries to avoid domestic taxes and other compulsory measures. This kind of flag is called the flag of convenience.
However, because there is no "real connection" between the ship flying the flag of convenience and the flag country, it is difficult for the flag of convenience to play its role when problems arise.
Merchant ships of one country, after being registered in other countries, fly the national flag to show their registration.
Ships flying flags of convenience shall be under the jurisdiction and protection of the flag state.
Many merchant ships in western countries are registered in other countries in order to avoid the control of domestic laws and regulations and reduce the payment of taxes or wages.
For example, according to American law, 75% of the crew of American merchant ships should be American citizens. The wages of American seafarers are much higher than those of other countries. If they register in other countries, they can hire more foreign seafarers and reduce their wages. Laws and regulations on taxation and shipping management vary from country to country.
What are the convenient countries where flags of convenience can be hoisted?
The national flag refers to the national flag of the merchant ship, usually hung at the stern, just to show the nationality. The flag is a symbol of the nationality of a ship. A simple understanding is that a ship flying the flag of a certain country has the nationality of that country, and this country is the flag country of the ship.
As recognized by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), there are the following flag of convenience countries:
1. Antigua and Barbuda. Bahamas. Bermuda. Cayman islands. Cyprus. Gibraltar. Honduras. Lebanon. Liberia 10. Malta 1 1. Marshall Islands 12. Netherlands Antilles 13.
Among them, Panama and Saint Vincent are flag countries of convenience with high application rates; Marshall Islands is a flag of convenience country with a high reputation (Marshall flag is equivalent to American flag). Some countries are not included; Even though its territory is not near the sea, it has opened up a convenient flag ship registration business in exchange for foreign exchange income, such as Mongolia.
Ships flying flags of convenience are not conducive to protecting the basic rights of seafarers, and crew members demand reasonable remuneration, working conditions, equal pay for equal work, etc. These rights shall not be discussed on ships flying flags of convenience.
I hope the above answers are helpful to you!