The “prostitution on cruiseships” thread got me thinking - we all know most ships are registered in Liberia or Panama (?) because it’s cheaper. But why is it cheaper? Why doesn’t U.S., Europe, etc. lower their registration cost to stop this practice? What happened to capitalism and competition?
well, the taxes are way lower there. They don’t care since anything they collect is above what they expected anyway. It costs them nothing. They issue you a piece of paper and get what, to them, is a ton of money.
Also I believe the US requires the ship to have been built in the US. This was meant to keep the shipbuilding here but had the opposite effect (politicians always so bright). When you can build a ship much cheaper elsewhere then you are forced to register it elsewhere.
Also ships registered in the US have crews subject to US labor laws like minimum wage etc.
You missed 60 minutes last night who did a piece on this very subject involving cruise ships. Sailor nailed the high points.
Interesting… Thanks. I heard that for cruiseships, non-US registered ships must operate on international routes. Is this true for other types of ships as well?