St. Maarten Dragged into another expanding web of fake ship registries as global scam starts to unravel

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten has once again been linked to an expanding network of fraudulent maritime registries uncovered in a major new investigation by Lloyd’s List, which exposes a sophisticated global operation behind more than 50 fake ship registration and seafarer certification websites.

The scam includes the so-called “Sint Maartin Registry,” one of several bogus flags traced to a growing cache of fraudulent domains operated by scammers catering to sanctioned vessels and deceptive maritime actors. Alongside fabricated registries for Timor Leste and the fictitious “Matthew Islands,” the Sint Maartin flag is part of a shadow fleet designed to evade international oversight.

Although St. Maarten does not operate an official international ship registry, the country’s name has repeatedly surfaced in connection with fake flags used by sanctioned vessels. The new findings deepen concerns raised last month when investigative outlet Follow the Money revealed that sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil tankers were sailing under phony St. Maarten flags issued through fraudulent California-based operators.

According to Lloyd’s List, a single digital infrastructure Marinegov.net, is behind at least 21 live fraudulent maritime administrations, with another 11 under construction or dormant. All mimic official government sites, using copy-pasted templates, QR codes, and near-identical URLs to confuse port authorities, insurers, and international databases.

The investigation, conducted in collaboration with open-source intelligence analyst Christian Panton, revealed that the scam has outpaced regulatory authorities like the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which currently lists only 306 fraudulently flagged ships across 29 fake registries. The actual figure, however, is believed to be significantly higher.

One of the most alarming discoveries is the speed at which these fake flags can scale. The fraudulent Malawi Maritime Administration, which was exposed by Lloyd’s List in June, had only four ships registered before the story broke. Yet within a month, and even after the site was taken down, that number ballooned to 40 tankers, all under sanctions. Only 26 of those ships are recognized in the IMO database, revealing dangerous lag times in global monitoring systems.

The investigation details how the Sint Maartin Registry was previously linked to the Timor Leste operation. In both cases, backend access to the websites revealed dozens of forged ship registration certificates, insurance documents, and seafarer licenses. Many were dated as recently as July 2025 and assigned to ships that have either been scrapped, never existed, or are flagged under legitimate states, suggesting a pipeline of fake identities being manufactured in advance.

The fraudulent flags have also been connected to domain registration data linked to a Bangladesh-based design agency, though direct involvement in the scam could not be confirmed.

The rapidly evolving scheme demonstrates an increasingly adaptive and professionalized network, exploiting regulatory blind spots and the urgent needs of sanctioned or non-compliant shipowners to remain operational.

As fraudulent registries multiply, maritime watchdogs warn that governments, including those falsely implicated like St. Maarten,  must act swiftly to clarify their official maritime status and cooperate with international efforts to flag and shut down impersonator sites.

For now, St. Maarten's name continues to be exploited in a scam that poses risks not only to maritime transparency but also to the country’s international reputation.

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