A report by KPMG, commissioned by the UK’s Department for Transport, suggests the nation’s ship register should part-privatise.
The UK flag has declined by 18% in the past five years and has a global market share of just 0.8% today.
The Department of Transport is now reviewing the report.
Last year the flag, which is administered by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), went through considerable restructuring with a new high-level director role created to work at the MCA to encourage shipowners to join the register.
Similar calls to part-privatise other flags around the world have been made in recent months. Hong Kong-based shipowners, for instance, have repeatedly urged the local government to hive off the territory’s register, the world’s fourth largest, from the local Marine Department.
