The container ship Rena is stuck on a reef, in New Zealand's waters, and has been leaking oil onto the beaches of the Bay of Plenty for more than a week.
The ship is registered in Liberia, which is well known for offering ship-owners a 'flag of convenience', a business practice which allows ship owners to register their vessels in an alternate sovereign state to their place of origin.
In the case of Rena, the ship is owned by Greeks, registered in Liberia, on the coast of West Africa and, operated by a Filipino crew - most likely to avoid stricter health, safety and employment regulations enforced in Greece.
Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports about the business practice from Liberia's capital, Monrovia.
