Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, stated last week that he will suspend the registration of foreign ships in Tanzania, after incidents in which ships carrying the flag of Tanzania were caught with drugs.
Furthermore, Mr. Magufuli ordered all of the ships under the Tanzanian flag to be investigated, in order to determine if they comply with the country’s rules.
Operators register their ships in other countries, which have lower fees, with these countries known as, flags of convenience.
Tanzania was ranked as second worst by the Paris MoU organisation, during its annual ‘White, Grey and Black list’, which ranks the countries’ flags for shipping.
Last week, Tanzania suspended its flag from two ships which were carrying drugs and arms, according to sources.