Why are so many ships registered in Nassau and fly the flag of Nassau? I know there is a logical reason for this. Are there any other countries that ships tend to register in?<BR><BR>Thanks

You see Panama and Liberia all the time too. <BR><BR>I don't know for sure but would think it has to do with taxes.<BR><BR>Any barristers out there with marine law experience. Step in here and let us know.

Well all knowing, all seeing, all everything Peter--where are you?

It is the flag of the Bahamas that you see. Nassau is the city. The Bahamas, Panama and Liberia are all what is called a Flag of Convinience. Their local requirements for registration are much more lenient as well as the laws governing their operation and safety. Don't worry, this does not necessarily make them unsafe. It only means less hoops to jump through, so a lower operating budget, ergo lower prices for the cruiser. <BR><BR>If safety is a concern, look at the nationality of the ship's officers. Pretty much any european or commonwealth, and of course US, nationality is good. Nationality is important because that is most likely the issuing authority of their license. The ones to watch out for is if they list officer nationality as various or panama. You never know what you are getting there. You used to be able to buy a ship's license in Panama ... no training required. I heard they finally stopped that, but you never know who is still floating around out there.<BR><BR>

Thats exactly what I was going to say.

Many people are boycotting the ships with Liberian registry since their country is know for using the funds from ships registrations and other sources to fund Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups and to do Al Qaeda's money laundering there. This is one of the reasons Princess recently switched all their registries to London or Bahamas.

FYI, Princess has reflagged all of it's ships either in the UK or Bermuda (same standards as UK) entitling them to fly the "red ensign" of the British merchant fleet. As mentioned earlier, there are more hoops (and taxes, I think), but apparently they've decided the pr value is worth the extra cost.<BR><BR>Pat.

Thanks for the info Ancient Mariner. I pray that the "various" has been stopped. There were absolutely too many unlicensed "trainees" maintaining and operating cruise ships (such as Norwegian). <BR><BR>Since safety-at-sea is now a priority, all cruise ships that stop at any US ports are inspected by the Coast Guard. Granted it is not OSHA but that may be well and good since quite a bit of OSHA regulations border on the ridiculous.<BR><BR>Paul

A ship cannot be registered as a US ship unless that ship is built in the US. Most ships register in other countries in order to avoid taxes and to avoid certain maritime laws.

I can't get my SO to go on a cruise because he won't travel on a ship that's registered in Liberia, Panama, Nassau, etc.

Does anyone know any cruise lines registered in Europe or the US or any websites where I can find such information?

hdm, NCL America and the paddle wheeled vessels of Delta Queen.

kfusto,
what exactly are NCL Delta and the American Queen?

HAL's ships are registered in The Nehterlands.

NCL America is the Hawaii division of Norwegian Cruise Line and those 2 ships are flagged in the US with US crews. Read the reviews first as they have had a LOT of service issues.

Delta Queen and Mississipi Queen are paddleboats that do cruises out of LA.

HAL is a great line and is registered in the Netherlands.

Thanks, kfusto! I'll look into HAL.