Cunard goes flag of convenience

In an effort to skirt labor laws and fair wages, the Cunard cruise line is re-flagging three ships from UK to FOC.

What is FOC? Flag of Convenience, also referred to by some as “runaway flag.”

The Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will now have a Bermuda registry after flying the British Union Jack since 1840, reports Cruise Law News.com

According to Cunard, the switch is made so that its captains may perform “weddings at sea” which are not allowed under British law but are o.k. with Bermuda.

The fact is, re-flagging means that Cunard’s ships are no longer bound under the UK “Equality Act 2010” which mandates that all workers from EU countries employed on British ships must be paid prevailing British wages and be covered under British labor laws.

So Cunard figured the easiest way to solve the “problem” is to get rid of the British flag altogether.

The ships will have Hamilton, Bermuda as the port of registry and will fly the so-called Red Ensign Group flag which covers a number of British territories such as Gibraltar and Cayman Islands. Even though they will be called British ships, they will not have an official UK registry.

Read "FOCs: An acronym for Hell Ships, in our article library here.