International Maritime Organization approves first international guidelines on ship registration to deter misuse of flags

The Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met in London on 13–17 April 2026. The meeting discussed the prevention of increased fraudulent registrations and measures to combat unlawful operations of ships.

The Committee approved the first international guidelines on ship registration. The guidelines aim to improve transparency and due diligence in ship registration and thereby deter fraudulent registrations and misuse of flags and contribute to preventing unlawful operations of ships.

In spring 2025, the Legal Committee decided to conduct a Regulatory Scoping Exercise to review regulation on combating unlawful operations of the shadow fleet. The exercise examines existing IMO conventions that make it possible to combat unlawful maritime operations, including substandard ships. A further purpose of the exercise is to identify potential gaps in the implementation of regulations and to develop further measures to combat unlawful operations. Finland has participated in the exercise, and the work continued at the meeting. A correspondence group was re-established to continue working on the exercise. 

The Committee also discussed liability related to alternative fuels used for ship propulsion. It agreed that a regulatory gap existed in liability issues and established a correspondence group to continue the work on this matter.  
 
In addition, the meeting discussed fair treatment of seafarers. 

What’s next?

The correspondence groups will continue the Regulatory Scoping Exercise and the work on liability issues related to alternative fuels. 

The next meeting of the Legal Committee will take place in April 2027. 

Inquiries:

Tiina Ranne, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 036, [email protected]