Beneficial Ownership

The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a vessel-owning structure, as distinct from the registered or legal owner. Single-ship companies, nominee shareholders, and layered holding entities can obscure it. FATF Recommendations 24 and 25 require states to ensure timely access to adequate, accurate beneficial-ownership information for legal persons and arrangements. In sanctions practice, identifying the beneficial owner is what triggers the OFAC 50 Percent Rule, since an entity owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons is itself blocked.