OECD STUDIES MOVE TO END SHIPOWNERS? ANONYMITY

OECD STUDIES MOVE TO END SHIPOWNERSÆ ANONYMITY    Concerned about maritime security, member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have discussed a report on how shipowners can hide their ownership of vessels.
   The Maritime Transport Committee of the OECD met on Jan. 10 to consider the report, prepared by the OECD as part of the organization’s policy to prevent the use of ships by terrorists.
   “The committee recognized that it was in fact very easy to maintain anonymity,” Danny Scorpecci, principal administrator at the OECD, told Shippers' NewsWire.
   Member governments of the OECD regard the current opacity of ownership of vessels as a potential obstacle to increasing maritime security.
   “Some (vessel) registers very actively promote anonymity,” Scorpecci said.
   The member governments of the OECD maritime committee have now asked the OECD secretariat to prepare another report on recommendations to make vessel ownership less opaque.
   Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organization is working on measures to enhance the control of ships by the authorities. However, in its recent work on maritime security, the International Maritime Organization has decided not to open the question of ownership of vessels, saying that identifying the operators of the ships was the priority.
   The OECD believes ships may be used as weapons, to carry weapons or terrorists or support terrorist activities through the revenue they generate or any other illicit purposes.
   In December, the Washington Post quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying they have identified approximately 15 freighters potentially linked to the al Qaeda terrorist organization. The ships “could be used to ferry operatives, bombs, money or commodities over the high seas,” the report said.
   Last June, a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing was told that certain ship registries, or so-called “flags of convenience,” serve as easy conduits for terrorist activities, and that vessel owners are not always known.