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Flag of convenience is the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the regulations of the owner's country. The closely related term open registry is used to describe an organization that will register ships owned by foreign entities. The term "flag of convenience" has been in use since the 1950s, and it refers to the civil ensign a ship flies in order to indicate its country of registration or flag state. A ship operates under the laws of its flag state, and these laws are used if the ship is involved in a case under admiralty law. The modern practice of flagging ships in foreign countries began in the 1920s in the United States, when shipowners frustrated by increased regulations and rising labor costs began to register their ships to Panama. The use of open registries steadily increased, and in 1968, Liberia grew to surpass the United Kingdom as the world's largest shipping register. , more than half of the world’s merchant ships were registered with open registries, and the Panama, Liberia, and Marshall Islands flags accounted for almost 40% of the entire world fleet, in terms of deadweight tonnage. Flag-of-convenience registries are criticized, mostly by trade union organizations based in developed countries, especially those of Europe. On the other hand, maritime industry practitioners and seafarers from other countries contest that this is a natural product of globalisation. Seafarers from developed countries must make themselves competitive if they wish to take advantage and practice in a global environment. , thirteen flag states have been found by international shipping organizations to have substandard regulations. A basis for many criticisms is that the flag-of-convenience system allows shipowners to be legally anonymous and difficult to prosecute in civil and criminal actions. Some ships with flags of convenience have been found engaging in crime, offer substandard working conditions, and negatively impact the environment, primarily through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. , ships of thirteen flags of convenience are targeted for special enforcement by countries that they visit. Supporters of the practice, however, point to economic and regulatory advantages, and increased freedom in choosing employees from an international labor pool. ==Background== International law requires that every merchant ship be registered in a country.〔ICFTU et al., 2002, p. 7.〕 This country in which a ship is registered is called its flag state,〔Bernaert, 2006, p. 104.〕 and the flag state gives the ship the right to fly its civil ensign.〔That the flag state gives the right to fly its flag, see United Nations, 1982, Article 91. That this flag is called a civil ensign, see De Kleer, 2007, p. 37.〕 A ship's flag state exercises regulatory control over the vessel and is required to inspect it regularly, certify the ship's equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents. A ship operates under the laws of its flag state, and these laws are used if the ship is involved in an admiralty case.〔Hamzah, 2004, p.4.〕 The organization which actually registers the ship is known as its registry. Registries may be governmental or private agencies. In some cases, such as the United States' Alternative Compliance Program, the registry can assign a third party to administer inspections.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=U.S. Coast Guard Alternative Compliance Program )〕 The reasons for choosing an open register are varied and include tax avoidance,〔 the ability to avoid national labor and environmental regulations,〔〔Dempsey and Helling, 1980.〕 and the ability to hire crews from lower-wage countries.〔Working, 1999.〕〔From the American Heritage dictionary definition available on-line at or 〕 National or closed registries typically require a ship be owned and constructed by national interests, and at least partially crewed by its citizens. Conversely, open registries frequently offer on-line registration with few questions asked.〔Richardson, 2003.〕〔Neff, 2007.〕 The use of flags of convenience lowers registration and maintenance costs, which in turn reduces overall transportation costs. The accumulated advantages can be significant, for example in 1999, 28 of Sea-Land's fleet of 63 ships were foreign flagged, saving the company up to 3.5 million dollars per ship every year.〔 The environmental disaster caused by the 1978 sinking of the , which flew the Liberian flag, spurred the creation of a new type of maritime enforcement. Resulting from strong political and public outcry over the ''Amoco Cadiz'' sinking, fourteen European nations signed the 1982 Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control or Paris MOU.〔 Under port state control, ships in international trade became subject to inspection by the states they visit. In addition to shipboard living and working conditions, these inspections cover items concerning the safety of life at sea and the prevention of pollution by ships.〔 In cases when a port state inspection uncovers problems with a ship, the port state may take actions including detaining the ship.〔Secretariat of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding, 2009.〕 In 2008, member states of the Paris MOU conducted 14,322 inspections with deficiencies, which resulted in vessels being detained 1,220 times that year.〔Secretariat of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding, 2009, p 27.〕 Member states of the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding conducted 13,298 ship inspections in 2009, recording 86,820 deficiencies which resulted in 1,336 detentions.〔Secretariat of the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding, 2009, p 22.〕 The principle that there be a genuine link between a ship's owners and its flag state dates back to 1958, when Article 5(1) of the Geneva Convention on the High Seas also required that "the state must effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag."〔D'Andrea 2006, p.2.〕 The principle was repeated in Article 91 of the 1982 treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and often referred to as UNCLOS.〔 In 1986, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development attempted to solidify the genuine link concept in the United Nations Convention for Registration of Ships.〔D'Andrea 2006, p.6.〕 The Convention for Registration of Ships would require that a flag state be linked to its ships either by having an economic stake in the ownership of its ships or by providing mariners to crew the ships.〔 To come into force, the 1986 treaty requires 40 signatories whose combined tonnage exceeds 25% of the world total.〔 , only 14 countries have signed the treaty.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flag of convenience」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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