ive register then acts as a flag of
convenience register, except that it is not the register of an
independent state.
A flag of convenience register is a national register
offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state.
The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their registers
by virtue of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and
liberal manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by
having relatively few of the registered ships actually owned in the
flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under
a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the
majority of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to
as an open register.
A flag state is the nation in which a ship is registered and
which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at
home or abroad. Maritime legislation of the flag state determines how
a ship is crewed and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be
placed on the register.
An internal register is a register of ships maintained as a subset of
a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national
flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of
maritime rules from those on the main national register. These
differences usually include lower taxation of profits, use of foreign
nationals as crew members, and, usually, ownership outside the flag
state (when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian
International Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are
the most notable examples of an internal register. Both have been
instrumental in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of
convenience and in attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and
Danish flags.
A merchant ship is a vessel that carries goods against
payment of freight; it is commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship
but accurately restricted to commercial vessels only.
A register is the record of a ship's ownership and
nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a country;
also, it is the compendium of such individual ships' registrations.
Registration of a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it
subject to the laws of the country in which registered (the flag
state) regardless of the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.

Military: This category includes the entries dealing with a country's
military structure, manpower, an