The Tongan government has firmly condemned any foreign vessels unlawfully claiming to fly its flag. In a statement, officials emphasized that the country’s international ship registry was closed in 2002, and since that time, Tonga has not registered any foreign vessels for international voyages. They warned that any foreign vessel currently operating under the Tongan flag is doing so improperly and without authorization.
The Tonga Maritime Administration Office oversees maritime safety and compliance and has been maintaining stringent controls since the registry’s closure to prevent misuse of the Tongan flag in global shipping. This declaration comes as maritime analyst Mark Douglas reported to RNZ Pacific that at least ten sanctioned vessels in the East and South China Seas are falsely presenting themselves as registered under Tonga’s flag. According to Douglas, these vessels exhibit characteristics of what is known as a ‘shadow fleet,’ employing deceptive identification signals to evade detection by authorities.
Douglas explained that these ships could alter their identities through the global automatic identification system (AIS), which is essential for preventing maritime collisions. By manipulating their Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers, which begin with a country’s designated digits, these vessels can present themselves as flagged by a different nation entirely.
Tonga’s government reiterated that any vessels fraudulently flying its flag are part of this so-called shadow fleet. In response, the Tonga Maritime Administration Office is actively monitoring the situation and is collaborating with the International Maritime Organization to protect Tonga’s name and flag from being misused.
While the government made it clear that Tonga is not responsible for these misrepresented vessels, it acknowledged the potential reputational harm that could arise from the widespread reporting of false AIS data. A similar situation unfolded recently in the Cook Islands, concerning a vessel named The Bertha that flew under their flag for nearly nine months in 2024. The Cook Islands government highlighted that this vessel continued to use their identifiers, amidst concerns about numerous flagged ships linked to Russia’s shadow fleet involved in the illicit trading of crude oil.
The proactive measures taken by Tonga’s government showcase the importance of maritime governance and the efforts being made to uphold the integrity of national flags in international waters.
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