IMO LEG 113 to put fraudulent vessel registration on the table

The International Maritime Organization aims to explore measures to prevent fraudulent registration during the 113th session of its Legal Committee (13-17 April 2026). 

The Legal Committee (LEG) deals with any legal matters within IMO’s scope. The Committee also addresses seafarer matters, including the fair treatment of seafarers, and issues concerning unlawful activities at sea which affect the safety of navigation. Based on the agenda presented by the Secretariat, one of the key items during the upcoming LEG is to explore measures to prevent unlawful practices associated with the fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships.  

According to an IMO update summarizing reports (2025–Jan 2026) of fraudulent ship registries, multiple states have been impersonated via fake websites and certificates. Counts of fraudulently flagged ships vary by country (ranges reported from single digits up to dozens). 

Authorities are circulating warnings, updating GISIS contacts, and in some cases referring matters to INTERPOL or imposing moratoria/deregistrations.

For instance at some point, there were 131 ships under the false Comoros flag. Since January 2026, 48 have moved to other flags or have been declared total loss or broken up. As of the date of this document, the number of “false Comoros” ships is 83. In addition, there are 39 ships fraudulently flying the flag of Guinea, as of the latest update. 

Meanwhile, Malawi faced a fake registry that led to 27 ships being fraudulently flagged in September 2025, which later dropped to 8 after investigations and referral to INTERPOL.

Timor-Leste and Lesotho confirmed they do not operate international ship registries. In Benin, a fake maritime administration website led to 33 fraudulent flaggings initially, later reduced to 13, with the matter referred to INTERPOL. 

Similarly, the Gambia deregistered 72 ships, imposed a temporary moratorium on new registrations, and reported fraudulent certificates. Botswana and Mali both confirmed they do not operate registries, yet 17 ships each were broadcasting their flags fraudulently.

According to Windward data, sanctioned tankers are expected to reflag to Russia’s registry in the coming months. As 2025 drew to a close, approximately 285 internationally trading tankers were broadcasting via AIS under the flag of a fraudulent or unknown registry. 

source : safety4sea