Effective United States Control

Effective United States Control

Summary of Effective United States Control

The condition attributed to vessels owned by U.S. citizens but registered in friendly flag of convenience countries (primarily Panama, Liberia, and Honduras) and presumed to be available for use by the United States in time of war or national emergency Operators of U.S.-registered vessels, American maritime unions, and others have raised concerns that foreign-registered vessels, although owned by Americans, cannot be counted on to augment the U.S. merchant fleet if needed.

In 1945 the Joint Chiefs of Staff, considering the role of the American merchant fleet in future conflicts, observed:

The term “effective United States control”as applied to shipping is considered to include all shipping which can be expected to be available for requisition by the United States Government in time of national emergency even though such shipping may not be under the United States flag. (J.C.S. 1454/1)

This statement was clarified in 1947 by direct references to U.S.-owned vessels registered in foreign countries:

Except through agreement there are no legal means by which the United States can regain control of a United States merchant vessel the registry of which has been transferred to another country. From a legal standpoint therefore it can be considered that the only time vessel is under absolute “effective United States control”is when it flies the United States flag. (J.C.S. 1454/11)

The second pronouncement, however, goes on to recognize that there are nations that will permit vessels under their registry to be employed by the U.S. government to advance war-making or other compelling needs; the Joint Chiefs conclude that several factors must be considered in determining whether a U.S.-owned vessel registered abroad is under “effective U.S. control”: (1) past practices relative to transfer of vessels to foreign registry by U.S. owners; (2) the character of diplomatic relations between the United States and the foreign country concerned; (3) the relationship of the foreign country to other nations hostile to the United States; (4) geographic proximity of the foreign country of registry to the United States; and (5) stability of the government in the foreign country of registry.

in the 1980s, additional consideration has been given to the nationalities of crews in determining the degree of control exercised by the United States over American-owned, foreign-registered ships. Recognizing that the preponderance of the affected vessels are registered in the Panlibhon countries

(Panama, Liberia, and Honduras), Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, in a letter to the National Maritime Council, noted:

These ships, owned or controlled by U.S. citizens, are considered in contingency plans for sealift requirements primarily as a source of ships to move essential oil and bulk cargoes in support of the national economy. . . . The EUSC [effective U.S. control] countries of registry have stated that they will assert no control over the employment of ships on their registries, and that they will not interfere with the exercise of emergency authority by the governments of ship-owners. They have indicated, with varying degrees of formality, that they would not impose any objections to the exercise of U.S. requisitioning authority over U.S. owned ships. (June 8, 1983)

American operators of foreign-registered shipping have organized the Federation Of American Controlled Shipping (read this and related legal terms for further details) to represent their interests.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)


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