NY Times: Flying the Flag, Fleeing the State

I read an article titled "Flying the Flag, Fleeing the State" by Rose George in the Opinion Pages of the New York Times. It discussed how four American yachters were killed and seven more people were kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Also 700 people, mostly Filipino, Bangladeshi and Russian, are held hostage to operate these ships, often with little food or water. George argues that the rules for registering ships should be changed. Many state registries lack the capacity to monitor the safety and working conditions on ships, or to investigate accidents, such as oil spills. Instead, ship safety certificates are given out by private classification societies. This leads to many problems such as oil spills, poor working conditions, low wages and piracy. After reading this article, I think this is an important issue that should not go unnoticed. 


For more information, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/opinion/25george.html?_r=1&ref=opinion