Venezuelan authorities have detained a US-sanctioned chemical tanker called Four Plus that has been falsely flying the flag of Guyana. The ship was detained as Venezuela claimed it did not have authorisation to enter Venezuelan waters. Tensions between Guyana and Venezuela have been running high for many months over a territorial dispute.
Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department stated: “The vessel is not registered in Guyana; therefore, it is not authorised to fly the Guyana flag or claim Guyanese nationality .”
The UK is leading a bid to stamp out falsely flagged ships at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
In a submission to the IMO’s legal committee, backed by 21 other countries, the UK has counted that the number of falsely flagged vessels has more than doubled to 223 ships in the space of just 22 months. Tankers and general cargo ships are the worst offenders.
“This is clear evidence that there is an adverse impact from fraudulent ship registration and fraudulent registries of ships in terms of maritime safety, security, environmental consequences and most importantly the human element, especially seafarers on board ships which are fraudulently registered,” the paper said.