ESWATINI’S emergence as a flag state “presents a distinct concern”, according to International Chamber of Shipping secretary-general Guy Platten, following its inclusion in the organisation’s flag state performance table for the first time.

Making their debut in the league table alongside Eswatini were Cambodia, Guinea-Bissau and Gabon.

All three have a history of registering dark fleet* tankers, while the government of Eswatini admitted last year that the registry had been operating without its permission.

The landlocked African state is not a member of the International Maritime Organization, which declared its registry a false flag in April 2024.

“Eswatini’s emergence as a flag state presents a distinct concern as it is not a member of the IMO and is therefore not a signatory of its international maritime conventions,” Platten said.

“ICS strongly encourages Eswatini and other new flag states to prioritise IMO membership and the ratification and implementation of IMO conventions to demonstrate their commitment to global maritime governance and the responsible operation of those ships registered with their fleets.”

The chamber said the four new additions were “reportedly used by some shipping companies to bypass US/EU/G7 sanctions, leading to concerns as to whether international maritime standards are being properly enforced on board ships flying the flags of these states”.

Gabon became the world’s fastest growing flag state in late 2023 after 58 Sovcomflot-owned tankers switched to the flag from Liberia, while two sanctioned tankers on the Lloyd’s List dark fleet watchlist remain flagged with Guinea-Bissau.

Both flags indicated that vessels sanctioned by either the UK or EU would be de-flagged in July 2024.

The ICS reiterated that its latest table confirms “that the vast majority of the global shipping industry is registered with flag states that strictly enforce global regulations”.

Some of the world’s biggest flags, including Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Greece, Japan and Hong Kong scored “green” on all the table’s indicators, while other members of the top ten list, Bahamas, China and Panama, performed well too.

“For more than 50 years, shipping has been a global industry operating under global rules, and it is vital that flag states adhere to their obligations to enforce the highest global safety standards,” Platten said.

“I hope that this year’s table helps shipping companies to carefully consider the performance of flag administrations when making decisions about the flags which they choose for their ships to fly.”

* Lloyd’s List defines a tanker as part of the dark fleet if it is aged 15 years or over, anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure designed to obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery, solely deployed in sanctioned oil trades, and engaged in one or more of the deceptive shipping practices outlined in US State Department guidance issued in May 2020. The figures exclude tankers tracked to government-controlled shipping entities such as Russia’s Sovcomflot, or Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co, and those already sanctioned.