Comment / The US flags a most convenient way to boost its shipping fleet

© Mpfaff

In the early days of the Houthis’ Red Sea denial, the rebel militia, known to be working with Iran, professed to be attacking ships with connections to Israel. It was soon discovered, however, that trying to figure out which ships were linked to which countries was harder than sighting them up for missile strikes.

Before even the tangled business of ownership comes into play, a ship might be built in China, managed in Singapore, on charter to a German liner, with ...