[Spooky23]

Shipowners try to avoid all sorts of stuff... labor law, environmental laws, taxes, etc. The only US flagged ships are ships that transit between two US ports.

There's beneficial owner who may or may not be easily known. They register the ship in Panama or Liberia. The officers are usually from a western country (depending on the owner or the purpose), crew from a place like Philippines or Indonesia. Some of the customer facing staff may be from a western country as well.

[eru]

> The only US flagged ships are ships that transit between two US ports.

And that's only because of some really archaic, protectionist laws that are driving up logistics costs for American businesses and keep freight off the waters and on the roads.