Flags of Convenience, Terrorism, Environmental Damage and Starvation
B. McPherson Pirates roam the high seas. They have been blamed for causing environmental damage, for fostering terrorism and for looting the oceans. Forget the image of Captain Hook or Pirates of the Caribbean. These modern day pirates have business suits and may never sail the high seas. These pirates don’t fly the Jolly Roger. They fly flags of convenience. The first flag of convenience is believed to have been flown in the 1920s. After WWII the overseas registry of ships increased as a former US Secretary of State formed a company in conjunction with the country of Liberia. That company eventually devolved to become the International Bank of Washington. When things got too hot in Liberia with their civil wars other countries with weak pollution laws, few or no international agreements regarding fish quotas, civil rights were targeted. Georgia, Dominica, Belize have offered their flags for sale. The Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific now...