Belize flag vessel figures in record U.S. drug bust

While Belize police last week racked up a near record cocaine bust, their counterparts in the U.S. have also did some record breaking of their own–and Belize figures prominently in the action. On Sunday the U.S. Coast Guard in San Diego searched a fishing boat, the “Svesda Maru,” which the Navy had earlier seized in the Eastern Pacific. In a secret compartment hidden below the fish hold they found over thirteen tons of cocaine, amounting to the largest maritime drug confiscation in U.S. history. The crew of ten, all from Russia and the Ukraine, are expected to be arraigned later in the week. And where does Belize fit in? The “Svesda Maru” just happened to be flying the Belize flag, as was the former record holder, the “Forever My Friend,” which was captured with eight point eight tons of cocaine in February. Belize, like Liberia, Panama, Honduras and several other small countries, operates a “flag of convenience” service under which ship owners can avoid the high costs and close scrutiny required for registration under the flags of major industrialised nations.