Flags of Convenience 2

Thanks to DeWitt Clinton, the Hudson River and Erie Canal gets there. So does the the St. Lawrence. They both lead to the “inland seas” . . . the ones along the “third coast” of the United States, if I might borrow the term from the literary journal. The easternmost of those evolving seas is Ontario, marked at one end by the sleepy lake port of Oswego,

 

and at the other by the Welland Canal, which leads to four more seas.

 

Isadora frequently transits the Welland Canal.

 

Thanks to Brian for these two shots, especially the lower one showing the stern anchor.

So why do I call this Flag of Convenience?

Isadora is one of five identical vessels transporting agricultural products from Great Lakes ports like Duluth, Burns Harbor (Indiana), and Cleveland to Europe. They carry passengers too. Isadora and her Japanese-built sisters are Polish, not Canadian or American. Why don’t North American companies jump into this trade? And why registered in Cyprus? I know the answer, but I just find it strange.

Suppose ships built in Mozambique, registered in Bolivia and operated by Mongolian companies and crews dominated the date shipping business from Basra to Europe . . . of course we’d find that not credible.