[quote=Kenshin;24681]There is a question I am interested in any professional mariner’s opinion on. Let’s just say this is a hypothetical situation as described below.
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A vessel is registered with Ghana, but decides to fly the flag of say… Sweden.
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Sweden publicly states this vessel is not theirs and it is a farce.
Can that vessel, flying a false flag, now be treated as an unflagged vessel? I mean, as far as anybody else knows, they don’t have a flag state, right?
Are there other ways that somebody, from – say – South Korea, who runs into this ship flying a false flag should know what it’s registered flag State really is?[/quote]
If it was a vessel registered in Ghana, it would not be treated as a “stateless vessel” but a vessel under the flag state of Ghana. Flying a different flag does not negate that fact.