Flag State

The flag state is the state whose nationality a ship holds and whose flag it is entitled to fly. Under UNCLOS Article 94 it must effectively exercise jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical, and social matters: keeping a register, ensuring surveys and certificates, manning standards, and investigating casualties. The flag state’s primacy on the high seas (Article 92) is the organizing principle of the Convention, but its sometimes weak performance is the reason port-state control and the genuine-link requirement of Article 91 developed.