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ICS Raises Alarm About Low-Quality, Sanctions-Busting Flag States

Eswatini's flag has emerged as a new option linked to sanctions evasion (iStock)
Eswatini's flag has emerged as a new option linked to sanctions evasion (iStock)

Published Feb 19, 2025 5:20 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The ICS has issued a warning about the rising number of commercially-managed, previously-unknown flag administrations that are taking off in popularity in the sanctions-evasion market. These budget flags are among the lowest-performing options available in terms of fleet quality, but they offer the light regulatory touch and rock-bottom affordability that a small minority of shipowners seek out. 

The newly-emerging flags of choice for the sanctions-busting fleet include Cambodia, Eswatini, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau, ICS understands. Gabon is well-known as a host of the Russia-serving "shadow fleet," and has grown by leaps and bounds since the start of U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil exports. The new arrivals give unscrupulous owners extra options for "flag-hopping," the practice of frequently changing registries to evade enforcement. All are low performers on ICS' annual ranking of flag state performance, found alongside well-known names on the Paris MOU Black List. 

Flagging arrangements of this type are associated with questionable safety enforcement. One of these states - the landlocked kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland) - isn't even an IMO member state. Last year, authorities in the UAE banned all Eswatini-flagged ships from their ports over safety concerns, and the IMO has designated the privately-run flag administration as "fraudulent." 

"Eswatini’s emergence as a flag state presents a distinct concern as it is not a member of the UN IMO and is therefore not a signatory of its international maritime Conventions. ICS strongly encourages Eswatini and other new flag States to prioritize IMO membership and the ratification and implementation of IMO Conventions to demonstrate their commitment to global maritime governance and the responsible operation of those ships registered with their fleets," said ICS Secretary General Guy Platten.

Platten noted that shipping's success depends upon following global rules, and recommended that owners check ICS' flag state performance tables when deciding which nation to choose to regulate their ships. "It is vital that flag states adhere to their obligations to enforce the highest global safety standards," he said.