For a number of years now, the IMO Secretariat has submitted reports to the IMO Legal Committee on several cases related to the fraudulent use of a country's flag, and/or to the fraudulent operation of a registry without the purported flag country's permission or knowledge. The IMO Secretariat studies these cases with the assistance of IHS Markit/S&P Global, who manage the IMO numbering scheme for both vessels and companies on behalf of IMO.
A presentation on the work of IHS Markit/S&P Global related to the fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships ( 24 March) in the margins of the 109th session of the Legal Committee (21-25 March 2022) outlined the IMO module on Ship and Company Particulars of GISIS, which is available to the public. The module allows for the display of information on "false flag" ships. It is also possible to search for all the ships flying a "false flag".
The database includes in excess of 200,000 vessels and 240,000 companies. Data exchange agreements are in place with numerous Flag Administrations. Information is also received from various other sources such as classification societies, recognized Organizations (ROs) and ship owners & ship managers. This enables the data manager to continuously check and verify vessels to make sure they are legitimately registered. In addition, there are separate, individual agreements with numerous Flag Administrations, whereby a vessel will not be shown under their flag unless it has been confirmed by the Flag Administration.
If advice is received that a vessel has been de-registered from a flag's registry the records are immediately amended. Unless there are confirmed details of the new flag registration the vessel is recorded as UNKNOWN flag.
If a Flag Administration advises that a vessel continues to fly a flag or broadcast (via AIS) flag information after de-registration , then the vessel is recorded as flying a FALSE flag.
"False flag" is used to designate any ship which transmits, broadcasts, displays, or otherwise engages in the misuse of flag details, which are confirmed by the Authorized Flag Administration as not being legally registered under the flag in question.
The IMO encourages all Member States to supply IHS Markit/S&P Global with accurate and up-to-date information on the vessels under their flag. This information is then forwarded to the IMO on a weekly basis and is updated on the GISIS website.
Watch the full presentation here: presentation on the work of IHS Markit/S&P Global related to the fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries
