After spending almost four years aboard the MT Iba, the five-member crew is finally able to go home. [1] The ship’s owner, Alco Shipping Services, fell into financial trouble and stopped paying wages 32 months ago. With the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas, ships are governed by the state they are registered in—their “flag state.” The majority of ships sail a flag from open flag states or “flags of convenience” including Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Bahamas, Malta, Cyprus, and several Caribbean island nations. This system of open registration, combined with minimal international law, makes it hard for authorities to force owners to take responsibility of abandoned vessels. A ship’s crew, however, can be held liable for abandoning a vessel resulting in situations like the