Last Saturday, the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Legal Committee approved its first international guidelines to combat the fraudulent use of flags. This regulatory package fills a long-standing gap, as until now there hadn’t been any binding global framework standardizing the regulation of ship registration.
The guidelines are specifically designed to tackle the ‘shadow fleet’ phenomenon i.e. vessels using false or ambiguous registrations to evade international sanctions, transporting illegal cargo or circumventing safety and environmental standards.
The new recommendations provide flag states with practical measures for verifying a ship’s identity through rigorous checks of its IMO number and for assessing the validity of its insurance cover and the certificates issued by technical organisations.
In addition, registers now have to check a vessel’s ownership structure and its operational history prior to proceeding with its registration.
The IMO also aims to improve interoperability between national registers by encouraging communication between states to identify ships that frequently change flags (flag-hopping), enhancing the system for reporting authorized registers, and enabling the IMO Secretariat to quickly verify the authenticity of a registration.
Although they are not immediately legally binding, the new guidelines represent the technical benchmark that Member States are required to incorporate into their national legislation to ensure the safety of shipping and the protection of the marine environment.
“This is a welcome step towards ensuring due diligence in ship registration systems, for the benefit of safety, protection of the marine environment and the well-being of seafarers,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
Translation by Giles Foster
