Flags of convenience coming down

Oct 17, 2011
Lyudmila Morozova
RIA Novosti

Russia, Cambodia and Sierra Leone have decided to fight against poaching seriously. Owing to agreements concluded by the Russian Fishing Agency, the so-called “flags of convenience” under which the owners of ships of some countries sail their ships to reduce expenses have lessened. Cambodia and Sierra Leon agreed to include the trawlers registered under their flags in the international register. This means that sailing ships under the flags of these countries has ceased to be suitable for poaching.

Sailing ships under foreign flags is quite common among the owners of trawlers. This makes it possible for them to sell their catch without red tape and paying large sums in taxes and customs duties only at the ports in South-East Asia. Ships under “flags of convenience” basically sail towards these ports.

Until recently, the ship owners preferred to sail their ships under the flags of Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Belize or Panama. In fact this was not so costly. To register a ship under, say Cambodia or Sierra Leone flag costs from 3 to 5 thousand U.S. dollars. The package of registration documents can be acquired any where, including at Russian ports and even in Moscow.

Following is the procedure of the behaviour of ships at sea. A Russian trawler is fishing within the country’s 200 kilometer economic zone, and a ship under a foreign flag, say Sierra Leon, sails close to the trawler. The catch is reloaded onto the ship, which will later sell it at the markets in South-East Asia. This causes significant economic damage to Russia. According to Russia’s Federal Customs Service, in 2010, 2.5 times more sea products were siphoned off than the amount officially declared. Here is an opinion from Alexander Savelev, head of the Public Relations Centre at the Federal Fishing Agency:

“It’s difficult to assess the damage caused by poachers since they do not give details of their work neither to Russian Fishing Agency nor any other body. However, experts estimate the damage caused by their criminal activity at one billion U.S. dollars or more a year. If we can shut down the poaching canals together with the colleagues from Cambodia, Sierra Leone and other countries, this sum will go to Russia’s budget. This will make it possible to create new jobs and invest money in ship building,” Alexander Savelev said.

However, an agreement with the two countries is insufficient to win over poaching because there are several other flags which are no less suitable for them. Among these countries are, Cook Islands, Bermuda, Honduras and even Georgia and Mongolia. Consequently, Russia’s Fishing Agency plans to hold talks with other countries, especially with Panama and Belize. Moreover, it has already signed memorandums on fighting against poaching with Japan, North Korea and China. A new agreement is being worked out with Canada for signing shortly.