flag of convenience

noun

1. the foreign flag under which merchant ships register in order to save on taxes or wages, or to avoid government regulations.

flag of convenience

noun

1. a national flag flown by a ship registered in that country to gain financial or legal advantage

Word History and Origins

Origin of flag of convenience¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Among them: choosing a “flag of convenience and a ship register for a vessel,” in Malta, Cyprus, Panama, Belize and other countries.

From Seattle Times

It has since been renamed Rima and swapped its flag of convenience from Dominica to Iran - meaning it now falls under Iranian jurisdiction.

From BBC

Most athletes who defected competed under a kind of flag of convenience – traveling to the Summer Games from eastern Europe with a plan to head west.

From Seattle Times

Scott-Railton, of the Citizen Lab online civil-rights project at the University of Toronto, said the Proud Boys email address that the spammers placed in the email’s sender field was “a flag of convenience.”

From Washington Times

Scott-Railton, of the Citizen Lab online civil-rights project at the University of Toronto, said the Proud Boys email address that the spammers placed in the email’s sender field was “a flag of convenience.”

From Seattle Times