The international hunt for the business interests of Osama bin Laden and the al-Qa’eda network has thrown into sharp relief the secret nature of shipowning and the flag of convenience system.

Very soon after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, specialist corporate investigators were hired to track down companies owned by al-Qa’eda members. The al-Qa’eda group is thought to control up to 80 front companies in 50 countries worldwide, involved in construction, trade in products such as sugar and peanut oil, and shipping, according to press reports. There is speculation that al-Qa’eda vessels have been used to smuggle heroin and hashish from Afghanistan.

Bin Laden’s covert shipping interests were first revealed during the trial of suspected bombers of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. A rusting freighter was found to have delivered supplies for the bombers to the port of Mombasa, Kenya.

Ships can obviously be used to move personnel, equipment, and even weapons of mass destruction around the world. Just a month after the US attacks, a man was found inside a container at the Mediterranean trans-shipment hub at Gioia Tauro, Italy. Thought to be en route from Port Said (Egypt) to Canada, he was equipped with a bed, toilet, a three-week supply of water, satellite phone, computer, cameras, identity documents, airport map, airport security passes and an airline mechanic’s certificate, according to the shipping weekly Fairplay. As yet the technology for mass monitoring of containers does not exist. Some 16,000 containers pass through US ports alone in one day.

Owning vessels also has great money-laundering potential. One prominent mercenary specialising in armed ship recovery jobs told Lloyd’s List: “I would be amazed if [al-Qa’eda] were not shipowners... You can hide several millions with a tanker.”

Not surprisingly, the corporate investigators found their task very difficult. As the ITF has consistently complained, it is virtually impossible to establish definitive ownership of a vessel. Many flag of convenience states guarantee utter secrecy so as to attract shipowners. Countries such as Liberia and Panama ask no questions when each ship is owned by a different “shell” company, which “disappears” when that vessel runs into difficulty.

At least one flag register reportedly offered to open its books to bona fide anti-terrorist corporate investigators. Even so, one investigator commented to the press: “Uncovering his bank accounts, bogus charities and front companies is child’s play compared to piercing the veil of secrecy that protects shipping owners.” Another said: “I would have thought it virtually impossible and, to be frank, I don’t think our clients are expecting us to find anything. It is a needle in a haystack.”

By late November, however, reports were circulating that western intelligence agencies (rather than the corporate investigators) had identified 23 merchant vessels believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden. Some were thought to be owned outright and others were on long-term time charter. They were said to be registered in Arab countries and with flags of convenience. However, when the US Navy stormed one vessel off Pakistan, it turned out to be owned by a company with Israeli links, with a crew of east European and Russian seafarers, showing how difficult it is to establish a vessel’s identity.

Jon Whitlow, ITF Seafarers’ Section Secretary, said: “Shell companies and corporate secrecy are fundamental to the FOC system and are the motor which enables the money-laundering aspect of transnational crime. Now FOCs are implicated in international terrorism. The overwhelming interest of civil society is for the dissolution of the FOC system.”