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-ITF: "Being a flag of convenience is incompatible with good governance" |
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No more Tongan flags on the high seas?
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In an radio interview between Tongan cabinet minister Filakepa and ABC radio the minister stated that the reason for the closure of the ship registry was "because the government has been concerned with the damage to its reputation from incidents as you may be aware involving Tongan registered ships carrying weapons and illigal immigrants."
Around 200 ships will be searching for a new ship registry after Tonga's decision to pull the plug on its fledging flag of convenience, following a series of embarrassing incidents involving its vessels. The Pacific island nation's government has decided that the ship registry will be would down by April 2003. The decision follows a major furore earlier this year when Israeli forces captured a general cargoship in the Red Sea laden with 50 tonnes of arms heading for Yasser Arafats Palestine Authority. As a result of the bad publicity generated by the incidents, the register was closed to new tonnage.
But just two months later, another Tongan ship, Monica, was in the news after the French navy intercepted it with almost 1000 Kurdish refugees bound for Italy on board. The feeling was that in the security climate post-September 11, the country no longer wanted to run the risk of guilt by association with unscrupulous operators.
The Interntional Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which has campaigned against "flags of convenience" (FoU's) for over 50 years stated to Lloyd's List that "A government has realised that being a flag of convenience is incompatible with good governance" and further said that "This is not just a positive result for the ITF but a small defeat for those who know that criminal activities are best carried out under an FoC".
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