85).

Newly independent countries joined in the shipping industry as a way of demonstrating their economic independence, leading to an increase in the number of open registers as owners in the traditional maritime countries could now register in countries with less demanding tax laws and lower costs for workers. Shipbuilding, which had long been dominated by Europe and North America, moved instead to East Asia. Other changes also took place in the industry:

Shipowners, still seeking to cut costs, looked to the developing countries for seagoing personnel, and multinational crews became more and more common. Some owners left the operation of their ships to specialist ship management companies. Manning agencies supplied an increasing proportion of the world's seafarers. Some, or indeed all, of these companies may come under different jurisdictions (Shipping: The shoreline of time and technology 1997, p. 85).

Ship management was not immediately affected by these changes, but...
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