方便旗通常指诸如巴拿马、利比里亚、洪都拉斯等国的国旗。因为这些国家的立法允许外国船东在该国登记船籍。二次世界大战之后,方便旗得到普遍采用,特别是在进入七十年代方便旗船舶吨位与日俱增,目前已占世界商船总吨位的三分之一。 方便旗正如它的名字一样,从它诞生起就为各国船东提供种种“便利”。早在1914年之前,英国船东为逃避船舶检验费用及雇佣低薪而效率高的挪威船员,常常把由英国政府 Convenience flags usually refer to the national flags such as Panama, Liberia and Honduras. Because their legislation allows foreign ship owners to register their ship in that country. The flags of convenience were generally adopted after World War II. In particular, the tonnage of flags of convenience became the second largest tonnage in the 1970s and now account for one third of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage. The flag of convenience, just as its name implies, provides all kinds of “convenience” to shipowners from all countries since its birth. As early as 1914, British shipowners, often fleeing Norwegian ships, who fleeing ship inspections and hiring low-paid and efficient sailors,