Fifteen Pakistanis with suspected links to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda were arrested in August aboard a flag-of-convenience ship in Italy, according to news reports which first surfaced in mid-September.The case involves a Tonga-flagged ship that has changed names four times in two years and changed flags twice during that span. The owner apparently is a Greek national who lives in Romania, according to authorities. However, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation, in a potentially galling twist, some records indicate the involvement of what appears to be a storefront registration office: Delaware-based Nova Management, Inc. That company in turn may be linked to another Delaware company, Sea Crystal Enterprises Inc.—which has been incorporated since 1997 but has no address nor phone number available, according the Delaware Secretary of State’s office.
“It’s another example of FOCs often being untraceable, or at minimum being deceptive,” noted SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, who serves as vice chairman of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section and who recently testified before Congress about the threat of runaway-flag ships to U.S. security. “We’ve said all along that these are the types of problems you face with FOCs.”
Italian authorities seized the vessel Sarah in early August off the island of Sicily. The 15 Pakistanis were charged with “association” to commit terrorist acts, according to reports in The Hamilton Spectator and The Washington Post and according to information gathered from the ITF. The authorities reportedly acted on a tip provided by U.S. naval intelligence officers.
An Italian police official told reporters that the suspects apparently were not planning an attack on Italy, but may have planned to transfer to another vessel and attack elsewhere. “We are certain that these people are part of a terrorist organization and we are almost certain that the organization is Al Qaeda,” the official stated. “It was obvious that these men were not sailors or even normal immigrants.”
The vessel also included eight Romanian crew members, who are not believed to have been charged. In fact, some or all of those mariners had contacted the ITF for assistance in securing unpaid wages. The ITF was investigating when authorities seized the vessel, which had received orders from an unknown source to pick up the Pakistanis.
At various points since the year 2000, the Sarah has sailed under the flags of Tonga, Bolivia, and Sao Tome and Principe. It has changed names from (in order) Nova to Nova Glory to Lory to Ryno to Sarah.
This case supports the contentions of the SIU, the ITF and others who state that the FOC system is a scam that threatens security and harms workers. The union and the federation expanded on those points June 13 during a hearing before the Special Oversight Panel on the Merchant Marine—part of the Armed Services Committee. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) chaired the session and stated, as the hearing began, “From my view of certain registries, it is apparent that we have virtually no idea who owns, or who controls a number of these ships. It is also clear to me that we likewise lack a clear understanding of who is manning these vessels—or even whether the documents they hold are valid—or even whether they have the required training.”
Representing the SIU and the ITF (an international federation of 594 transport trade unions in 136 countries representing approximately 5 million transport workers), Heindel said the FOC system “provides a hiding place for shipowners to avoid the restrictions of international law, where states sell their sovereignty to those wishing to avoid flag state interference in safety, environmental or labor standards and the transparency of their corporate structure.
“And herein lies one of the most serious deficiencies with the FOC system—the lack of transparency in corporate structure—that both the ITF and SIU view as a facilitator of transnational criminal activities and terrorism. FOC vessels have been linked to the registration of hijacked ships, phantom ships, fraudulent mariner documentation, illegal unreported and unregulated fishing, illegal alien smuggling and, most recently to international terrorism.”
He said that the lack of transparency in the corporate structure of FOCs “is a threat to national and maritime security.”
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