The Round Table of shipping industry organisations - ICS, ISF, BIMCO, Intercargo and Intertanko - have produced the attached guidelines to encourage ship operators to examine whether a flag has substance before using it, and to encourage them to put pressure on their flags to effect any improvements that might be necessary.

The Guidelines list the responsibilities that a shipping company might reasonably expect of a flag state, and contain a flag state performance table, summarising factual information derived from the public domain.

Shipping Industry Guidelines on Flag State Performance  

Flag State Performance Table 2007