Legal Committee work on fraudulent registration of ships and fraudulent operation of registries

The problem of fraudulent registration of ships and fraudulent operation of registries was first raised at IMO by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2017 during the 104th session of the Legal Committee. The DRC reported that approximately 73 vessels had been fraudulently using its flag and that illegal fishing was being carried out in its waters to its economic detriment.

Fraudulent registration of ships prevents lawful registries from exercising effective jurisdiction and control over vessels at sea, deprives lawful registries from obtaining legitimate revenue while unjustly enriching fraudulent actors and exacts unjustified reputational harms on States when vessels engage in illicit activities under the cloak of a fraudulent registration. Furthermore, fraudulently registered ships may not be in compliance with safety and environmental protection standards, endangering the vessels' crew and posing an increased threat of damage to the marine environment.

In 2018, the Legal Committee recognized the need for a multi-pronged approach and that the solution would involve making accurate information about the status of a nation's registry widely, quickly and accurately available to shipowners and insurers, as well as public officials. Following that, the Secretariat reported 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. These cases concerned, in addition to DRC, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, the Maldives, Nauru, Samoa, the United Republic of Tanzania and Vanuatu. [1]

The Secretariat has been studying the cases received reporting on fraudulent use of a flag or of a registry and collaborating with S&P Global Market Intelligence to improve the display in GISIS of information on a ship which was confirmed by an Administration as not legally registered under that Administration's flag. In such a case, a "false flag" for the particular ship is shown in the module on Ship and company particulars in GISIS. This status would change as and when the ship would be registered under a new flag. More information on data transparency for addressing fraudulent registries, fraudulent ship registration and other illicit practices can be found here.

The Legal Committee 109th session established a Study Group to initiate a comprehensive study to address all issues arising in connection with fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships, and possible measures to prevent and combat them. The Final report of the Study Group on Fraudulent Registration and Fraudulent Registries of Ships was submitted to the Legal Committee's 111th session in April 2024. 

During the 112th session of the Legal Committee in March 2025, it was decided that work would start on the development of new Guidelines or Best Practices on the Registration of Ships, with a view for this work to be completed in 2027.

A proposal for the development of these guidelines was presented by a Correspondence Group on Fraudulent Registration and Fraudulent Registries of Ships. This group identified several factors which may be contributing to the abuse of the IMO identification number schemes and the loopholes in the system. The full report of the Correspondence Group is contained in document LEG 112/6 which can be found on IMODOCS.

The development of guidelines or best practices for the registration of ships will be for the benefit of safety, protection of the marine environment and the well-being of seafarers and will support flag States in managing their registration process, identifying falsified documentation and reducing the number of fraudulent registrations through consistent due diligence. 

Notes:

1. Documents LEG 106/7 and LEG 106/7/Add.1 and Circular Letter Nos.3717, 3798, 3840 and 3855.