4 - Merchant Shipping

Summary

We don't know or care who owns the ship or whether they're doing ‘white’ or ‘black’ business … it is not our concern.

Ahmad Yahya, Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport

INTRODUCTION

Shipping and maritime trade are an international business, not only in the sense that vessels transport goods from one country or region to another, but also in regard to the ownership and operation of vessels. For example, a ship may be owned by an individual or a firm in Indonesia, but managed by a company based in Singapore. The same vessel may then be registered in Liberia through a holding company, with an “office” in the country of registration. The vessel is crewed by seafarers from different countries, such as Pakistan or the Philippines, hired by a manning agency based in India. Furthermore, the cargo the ship is transporting may be owned by a number of companies in various countries, such as Germany, Australia, or China. On its trade routes, the vessel then visits ports in a variety of countries, thereby entering these state's national waters and jurisdictions. This example is not exaggerated and the real ownership and operation of a vessel may in fact be even more complicated. However, it indicates the international nature and complexities of today's global shipping industry. In an effort to standardize, control, and regulate maritime trade in accordance with the international character of the shipping industry, different international regulatory regimes have been established that are concerned with basic issues such as the safety of shipping and seafarers, pollution liability, and minimum operational and maintenance standards of ships. While these regulations cover a wide range of safety and security concerns, the maritime industry remains one of the least controlled transport sectors — a legacy of the age-old idea of the “freedom of the sea”. This chapter discusses how pirates exploit this lax regulatory system and argues that terrorists, separatists, criminals, and pariah governments can use the same regulatory weaknesses, thereby posing a significant threat to international security.