Maritime Sanctions Data
Flag-of-convenience reliance by sanctions program
Data as of 2026-08-20 · source: U.S. Treasury OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list
Flag-of-convenience reliance varies sharply by sanctions program: 63.5% of the Terror-finance / proliferation-program fleet flies a shell-jurisdiction flag versus 5.2% of the North Korea (DPRK)-program fleet — across 1,481 OFAC-designated vessels with a recorded flag (data as of 2026-08-20).
| Sanctions regime (its flag-of-convenience rate) | flag-of-convenience vessels | % of total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iran — 47.8% flag of convenience | 300 | 60.9% | |
| Russia — 26.4% flag of convenience | 112 | 22.7% | |
| Terror-finance / proliferation — 63.5% flag of convenience | 61 | 12.4% | |
| Venezuela — 21.7% flag of convenience | 13 | 2.6% | |
| North Korea (DPRK) — 5.2% flag of convenience | 5 | 1% | |
| Cuba — 33.3% flag of convenience | 1 | 0.2% | |
| Other regimes — 0.6% flag of convenience | 1 | 0.2% | |
| Total | 493 | 100% |
Methodology
- A cross-tabulation of the existing by-flag and by-program datasets: for each OFAC sanctions program, the share of its flagged vessels that fly a Tier-3 flag-of-convenience / shell-jurisdiction register (the same jurisdiction-tier model the by-flag dataset uses).
- The % in each row label is that regime's OWN flag-of-convenience rate (its FoC vessels / its flagged vessels). The table is restricted to the flag-of-convenience fleet, so the row count is the regime's FoC vessel count and the row percentage is its share of the whole flag-of-convenience fleet.
- Computed over the 1,481 OFAC-designated vessels that carry a recorded flag in the SDN feed; each vessel is assigned to one strongest sanctions regime.
Source: U.S. Treasury OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Computed by the same ArcNautical engine behind arcnautical.com/check (commit e9f7afd7). Full scoring detail: methodology.
FAQ
Which sanctions program relies most on flags of convenience?
As of 2026-08-20, the Terror-finance / proliferation-program fleet has the highest flag-of-convenience rate (63.5% of its flagged vessels fly a shell-jurisdiction register), versus 5.2% for the North Korea (DPRK)-program fleet.
How is "flag of convenience" defined?
A registry classified Tier 3 by ArcNautical's jurisdiction-tier model — a flag-of-convenience / tax-haven register (e.g. Panama, Marshall Islands, Liberia) where beneficial-ownership disclosure is deliberately restricted. It is the same definition the ArcNautical vessel dossier and the by-flag dataset use.