[!todo] Seed note. A starting point, not a finished note yet.
A flag of convenience is a ship registered in a country other than its owner’s, chosen for lower taxes, lighter labor and safety regulation, and cheaper multinational crewing. Panama, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands together account for about 44% of global cargo capacity; Panama runs the world’s largest registry and Liberia earns roughly a quarter of its national income from ship registration. The practice began with US owners flagging in Panama during Prohibition to serve alcohol at sea, and it means a ship’s painted nationality often reveals nothing about who owns it, who crews it, or which navy is obligated to protect it — a gap that matters as the security order behind open sea lanes weakens. It connects directly to the ownership-and-defense questions raised in Global Shipping. Seeded from Global Shipping.