Maritime glossary
Flag State
The country under whose laws a ship is registered — sets the regulatory standard for the vessel.
Definition
The flag state is the country in which a vessel is registered, and whose laws govern the ship. Flag administrations are responsible for ensuring vessels under their flag comply with international conventions like SOLAS and MARPOL, and for issuing the statutory certificates. Flag states fall into "white", "grey", and "black" categories on the Paris MoU performance list — a black-flag vessel attracts heavier PSC scrutiny and trades at a discount. Common open registries include Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Malta, and Hong Kong.
How Vessel Hunter uses Flag State
Filter the Vessel Hunter fleet view by flag, or use flag-class risk as a layer on top of your watchlist alerts.
Related terms
- PSCPort State Control
Inspections of foreign-flagged vessels in a port’s waters, run under regional MoUs to enforce international maritime conventions.
- IMO NumberInternational Maritime Organization Number
The seven-digit identifier permanently assigned to a ship — never reused, never changed, even on resale or reflag.
- MMSIMaritime Mobile Service Identity
The nine-digit identifier broadcast by a vessel’s AIS and used to route VHF radio calls.
The bigger picture
Flag State is one piece of the commercial maritime picture Vessel Hunter pulls together for shipyards, port agents, and service providers. Every vessel record bundles AIS, ownership, inspections, dry-dock history, casualty record, classification status, and a verified contact for the operator decision-maker behind the ship — so the team that reaches out first wins the work.
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