• Home
  • Politics
  • Health
  • World
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
What's Hot

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Man She Is Today’: European Companies Accused Of ‘Importing’ Woke Ideology

May 29, 2025

‘The Economy Is On Fire!’: Kevin O’Leary Drops Fact Check On CNN Panelists Railing Against Trump’s Economy

May 29, 2025

DeSantis Signs Bill Making Gold And Silver Legal Tender

May 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Saturday, May 31
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
  • Home
  • Politics

    Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

    October 24, 2023

    Woman makes disturbing discovery after her boyfriend chases away home intruder who stabbed him

    October 24, 2023

    Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly support Israel’s war on Hamas, but younger Americans defend Hamas

    October 24, 2023

    Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off engines midflight on Alaska Airlines

    October 23, 2023

    Leaked audio of Shelia Jackson Lee abusively cursing staffer

    October 22, 2023
  • Health

    Disparities In Cataract Care Are A Sorry Sight

    October 16, 2023

    Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

    October 16, 2023

    Long-term steroid use should be a last resort

    October 16, 2023

    Rite Aid Files For Bankruptcy With More ‘Underperforming Stores’ To Close

    October 16, 2023

    Who’s Still Dying From Complications Related To Covid-19?

    October 16, 2023
  • World

    New York Democrat Dan Goldman Accuses ‘Conservatives in the South’ of Holding Rallies with ‘Swastikas’

    October 13, 2023

    IDF Ret. Major General Describes Rushing to Save Son, Granddaughter During Hamas Invasion

    October 13, 2023

    Black Lives Matter Group Deletes Tweet Showing Support for Hamas 

    October 13, 2023

    AOC Denounces NYC Rally Cheering Hamas Terrorism: ‘Unacceptable’

    October 13, 2023

    L.A. Prosecutors Call Out Soros-Backed Gascón for Silence on Israel

    October 13, 2023
  • Business

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Man She Is Today’: European Companies Accused Of ‘Importing’ Woke Ideology

    May 29, 2025

    ‘The Economy Is On Fire!’: Kevin O’Leary Drops Fact Check On CNN Panelists Railing Against Trump’s Economy

    May 29, 2025

    DeSantis Signs Bill Making Gold And Silver Legal Tender

    May 28, 2025

    John Deere Announces $20 Billion Plan To Build Up American Manufacturing

    May 28, 2025

    EV Startup Promised To Cut China Ties — Then Reportedly Shared US Data Anyway

    May 27, 2025
  • Finance

    Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

    April 17, 2025

    The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

    April 17, 2025

    Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

    April 17, 2025

    How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

    April 16, 2025

    The US Flip-flop Over H20 Chip Restrictions 

    April 16, 2025
  • Tech

    Cruz Confronts Zuckerberg on Pointless Warning for Child Porn Searches

    February 2, 2024

    FTX Abandons Plans to Relaunch Crypto Exchange, Commits to Full Repayment of Customers and Creditors

    February 2, 2024

    Elon Musk Proposes Tesla Reincorporates in Texas After Delaware Judge Voids Pay Package

    February 2, 2024

    Tesla’s Elon Musk Tops Disney’s Bob Iger as Most Overrated Chief Executive

    February 2, 2024

    Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Grew $84 Billion in 2023 as Pedophiles Target Children on Facebook, Instagram

    February 2, 2024
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
Home»Finance»Does a Ship’s Flag Matter?
Finance

Does a Ship’s Flag Matter?

April 3, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Does a Ship’s Flag Matter?
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Maritime law is fascinating, yet also exceedingly complex.

The recent collision of a Singaporean-flagged ship with a bridge in Baltimore demonstrates just some of its complexities, and the case looks likely to be one that will take years to resolve.

First, to the background of the incident.

While it is still early, and an investigation is ongoing, it appears that the cargo ship named Dali lost power and was unable to avoid crashing into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, catching fire as it did so. The collision, which took place in the early hours of the morning on March 26, is thought to have killed at least seven people working on the bridge, and collapsed the majority of the structure.

In the wake of the devastation, much has been made of the fact that Dali flew a Singaporean flag – the implication being that the collision has precipitated an international incident between the U.S. and Singapore.

But what does a ship’s flag actually mean?

Put simply, flagging a ship is a procedural act as, by law, all merchant ships must be registered to a state, and must also fly its flag to identify the ship’s registry.

This also means that the ship must adhere to the maritime laws of that state while at sea and, in open seas, a ship’s flag can be used to establish legal jurisdiction if something goes wrong.

In the case of the Dali however, it was not sailing the high seas when the crash happened, but was in U.S. waters and therefore under the jurisdiction of the American authorities.

See also  Americans have lowest support for Black Lives Matter since death of George Floyd, poll finds

In addition to pointing towards legal jurisdiction in a maritime case, flagging a ship also means that it has access to tax breaks, certification, and security measures from the state in which it is registered. This practice has its own term, “flag of convenience,” or choosing a flag (state) that allows an easy registration process and other attractive benefits rather than registering the ship in the country of its owner.

To that end, most merchant ships are registered in only a handful of countries, with the top eight flag states for 2023 listed as Panama, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malta, and the Bahamas, although there is some debate about whether Singapore is considered a flag of convenience due to the country’s high safety standards.

Regardless of its flag, of more importance in the Dali case is who actually owned the ship, because it is the ship’s owners who will be liable for damages.

A ship’s owner does not have to be of the same nationality or even in the same country as the ship’s registry, and even the use of the term “owners” of a ship can be complicated. While often the “legal owner” of a vessel is considered its registered owner, this is not the same as its “beneficial owner,” who ultimately owns the legal entity that owns the ship.

In the case of the Dali, while it is registered to a company named Grace Ocean Private based in Singapore, that company is in turn owned by a Hong Kong-based group.

See also  Indonesia to Require Digital Platforms to Pay for Media Content, President Says

That is still not the end of the story.

Ships have liability insurance and, in the Dali case, that insurance comes from Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club, based in London.

None of this is unusual.

One retired maritime lawyer I spoke to when writing this column recalled a similar incident in Indonesia in the 1970s. That case involved a tanker collision in the Palembang channel in West Sumatra, which caused some environmental pollution of the port due to oil spillage.

The respective ships involved in the collision had Liberian and Panamanian flags (see above for the most common flag states) and Greek beneficial owners. As with the Dali, the ship’s insurance was based in the United Kingdom, and English jurisdiction had been agreed upon for ship damage claims.

In the end, Liberia, Panama, and Greece were not involved in the case, and the liability insurers paid Indonesia for pollution of the port and cargo loss.

Undoubtedly, in the case of the Dali, there will be a huge insurance claim, encompassing bridge wreckage removal and rebuild, the loss of life in the U.S. (which is expensive), and the cost to shipping unable to leave Baltimore.

All of this will likely take years to resolve, but the crux of the case is likely to be more about the insurers, the beneficial owners of Dali, and the U.S. authorities, and less about the crimson and white Singaporean flag under which the stricken ship sailed.

Flag Matter Ships
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

April 17, 2025

The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

April 17, 2025

Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

April 17, 2025

How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

April 16, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Stocks rally to cap weekly gains as Amazon sinks, First Republic collapses

April 28, 2023

Soros-Backed ‘Global Disinformation Index’ Is a Censorship Tool

April 30, 2023

How you can save $500 or more on a flight to Europe this year

July 15, 2023

‘You’re Making a Mockery of the First Amendment’

March 26, 2023
Don't Miss

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Man She Is Today’: European Companies Accused Of ‘Importing’ Woke Ideology

Business May 29, 2025

Consumers’ Research issued a “Woke Alert” on Thursday warning American shoppers that three European companies…

‘The Economy Is On Fire!’: Kevin O’Leary Drops Fact Check On CNN Panelists Railing Against Trump’s Economy

May 29, 2025

DeSantis Signs Bill Making Gold And Silver Legal Tender

May 28, 2025

John Deere Announces $20 Billion Plan To Build Up American Manufacturing

May 28, 2025
About
About

This is your World, Tech, Health, Entertainment and Sports website. We provide the latest breaking news straight from the News industry.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Categories
  • Business (4,136)
  • Entertainment (4,220)
  • Finance (3,202)
  • Health (1,938)
  • Lifestyle (1,645)
  • Politics (3,084)
  • Sports (4,036)
  • Tech (2,006)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • World (3,944)
Our Picks

Erie, PA Crowd ROARS After Trump Calls Joe Biden a “Dumb Son of a B*tch” (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit

July 30, 2023

Names Old and New Top British Open Leaderboard

July 21, 2023

The Buenos Aires barber’s books: a history of 19,900% inflation

October 8, 2023
Popular Posts

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Man She Is Today’: European Companies Accused Of ‘Importing’ Woke Ideology

May 29, 2025

‘The Economy Is On Fire!’: Kevin O’Leary Drops Fact Check On CNN Panelists Railing Against Trump’s Economy

May 29, 2025

DeSantis Signs Bill Making Gold And Silver Legal Tender

May 28, 2025
© 2025 Patriotnownews.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.