Comment: ships flagging out in Europe

© Icefront

Patriotism rather than commercial factors are probably the only reason a ship would fly a European flag, according to this interesting comment piece on Maritime Watch. As European registers lose business to other countries, it looks likely that the 20% of the world’s shipping fleet registered in Europe will fall even further. Unlike the protectionism pushed by countries such as the US, China and India, the EU does not discriminate against non-EU flags, sticking to its free market principles. But as it investigates Greece’s tonnage tax, the issues are becoming more important and should be debated publicly, argues the writer.