Flag of convenience
(重定向自Flags of convenience)
![MOL Pride, owned and operated by the Japanese company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, flying the flag of Liberia.[1]](/uploads/202501/13/Liberian_flag_on_Mol_Pride1230.jpg)


![Top 11 flags of convenience account for almost 55% of the entire world fleet.[28][29]](/uploads/202501/13/Top11FOCs20091230.png)
Flag of convenience is a business practice whereby a merchant ship is registered in a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies that country's civil ensign. Owners of a ship may register the ship under a flag of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the regulations of the owner's country. The closely related term open registry, which describes a ship register that will register foreign-owned ships.