The hundred thirteenth session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Legal Committee (LEG 113) was held from the 13rd to the 17th of April 2026, with emphasis on improving transparency in ship registration and tackling the increasing misuse of flags.
Initially, LEG 113 was informed that Belgium, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Sweden had deposited their instruments of ratification for the 2010 HNS Convention, bringing the treaty closer to entry into force as it has now surpassed the required threshold of twelve state parties.
Under the next step, contracting parties are due to submit their HNS contributing cargo data to the IMO Secretariat by 31 May 2026. The Secretariat will then assess whether the minimum entry-into-force requirement of 40 million tonnes has been met. If this threshold is reached, the Convention could enter into force 18 months later, with 30 November 2027 being the earliest possible date.
Furthermore, LEG 113 also approved a Legal Committee circular containing guidelines on the registration of ships. These guidelines are intended to support flag States in strengthening registration procedures, detecting fraudulent documentation, and preventing unlawful registrations.
According to the IMO, the number of falsely flagged ships has increased since the previous session, with 529 ships currently flying false flags, 356 of which are not classed by any classification society.
Measures to prevent unlawful practices associated with the fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships and development of guidelines or best practices on the registration of ships
Two set of proposals for guidelines, one focused on due diligence to prevent fraudulent ship registration (submitted under Item 6) and registries and the other focused on the registration of ships (submitted under Item 12) were submitted to LEG 113 for consideration.
The Committee agreed to merge the substance of both document into a single set of guidelines on the registration of ships that aims to help flag States strengthen ship registration procedures, detect fraudulent documentation, and eliminate fraudulent registrations.
The guidelines cover the registration of merchant ships engaged in international voyages and align with the sovereign rights and obligations of States to establish registries as defined in articles 91 and 92.1 of UNCLOS.
They aim to be registry-model-neutral and assist all Administrations, whether operating national or open registries, in ensuring compliance with IMO regulations and preventing Flag of Non-Compliance (FONC) practices, where fraudulent or unauthorized entities purport to act as registries without complying with IMO regulations.
- Governance of registration process: requirements for domestic legal and administrative frameworks on designating competent authorities and organizing formal oversight of private registry operators;
- Registration process: requirements on establishing and maintaining documented procedures and quality management systems covering all stages of ship registration;
- Ownership due diligence: requirement on verifying ship ownership (including beneficial ownership) and requiring proof of deletion from a previous registry before permanent registration;
- Sanctions screening: requirements on cross-checking against United Nations and appropriate national sanctions lists. These requirements should be observed before registration and routinely thereafter;
- Ship Identity verification: requirements on conducting due diligence to cross-check the Ship’s IMO number with Continuous Synopsis Records (CSR), and against independent databases;
- Certificate issuance, security and verification tools: requirements on incorporating unique identifiers and security features in certificates and verification tools to enable real-time authentication;
- Classification and insurance oversight: requirements establishing procedures for verifying valid class certificates and compulsory insurance/financial security. Classification societies acting as Recognized Organizations must issue certificates under flag State authority with appropriate oversight;
- Information sources: requirements on using reputable information sources and tools to cross-check ship history, ownership, classification, operational records, and sanctioned status during registration;
- Cooperation and information sharing: requirements for States to exchange information on registration status, ownership records, insurance details, and deletion notifications via platforms including GISIS to prevent flag hopping and re-registration of substandard vessels;
- IMO instrument implementation: requirements on ensuring effective implementation of international conventions including though pre-registration surveys required by UNCLOS Article 94.4(a) and on establishing oversight programs for Recognized Organizations.
The Guidelines are to be disseminated in a Circular of the Legal Committee. LEG 114 will continue work on this matter and issue additional guidance on the role of Port State Control and Coastal States in combatting unlawful registries.
Ensuring due diligence in ship registration system for the benefit of safety, protection of the marine environment and the well-being of seafarers, thereby eliminating cases of fraudulent registration, is of paramount importance. You have taken the first steps in approving guidelines for the registration of ships to ensure it is modern, effective and transparent.
LEG 113 established correspondence groups to continue work:
- on a regulatory scoping exercise (RSE) to identify relevant existing IMO provisions that Member States can leverage to combat substandard shipping to highlight gaps where provisions are insufficient or underutilized. The Committee approved the thematic approach that had been retained to conduct this exercise and requested that the relevant correspondence group further specify what matters fall within the remit of the LEG Committee and those that should be considered by other IMO Committees.
- on the suitability of the IMO liability and compensation regimes with respect to alternative fuels when used for the operation and propulsion of a ship. The Committee noted findings that the compensation regimes did not sufficiently provide coverage in case of accidents involving the use of alternative fuels and it requested that the relevant correspondence group further advance work to propose solutions to address these gaps.
LEG 113 also noted that a new Judicial Sale of Ship (JSS) module was added to the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) to assist member States in their reporting obligation under the JSS Convention which entered into force in February 2026.