Kutner and Willensky write about the issues of Flags of Convenience and Franchising of Registries.

"In February of 2014, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law published a white paper that concluded that sovereign states have broad authority under international law to regulate GHG emissions from vessels within their registry.4 However, many registries are structured such that the flag state has limited connection to or exercises limited control over registered vessels.  This paper delves further into the issue of flag state authority to regulate GHG emissions particularly with respect to franchised registries and flags of convenience". 

Introduction: "...In an ideal world flag States, whose flags are worn by the world’s shipping, would lay down, and enforce upon their shipowners, standards of design, maintenance and operation which would ensure a very high standard of safety at sea. Coastal States, along whose coasts shipping passes, and Port States, at whose ports or anchorages shipping calls, would have no cause to concern themselves with the maintenance of such standards. The present system of Flag State Control falls well short of this ideal … Regrettably it is beyond argument that not all flag States live up to their responsibilities..."

This study examines the merits and disadvantages of operating open shipping registries in the Pacific Islands.  It discusses in detail a number of areas of challenges such as the National and international regulatory regime in relation to open registries; relationship between open registries and maritime security; seafaring issues; monitoring ability by the governments owing the open registry; management arrangement of registries and so forth.

This paper discusses in detail on the need/importance of putting Tax havens on the global "Sustainability" Agenda.  While only 4% of all registered
fishing vessels are currently flagged in a tax haven jurisdiction, data from regional fisheries management organizations and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) show that 70% of the vessels that have been found to carry out or support, IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing and for which flag information is available are, or have been, flagged under a tax haven jurisdiction — in particular, Belize and Panama.