Belgium

About the Flag

Located in Western Europe bordering the North Sea between France and the Netherlands, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a civil law legal system influenced by English Constitutional theory. The King is the Chief of State; the Prime Minister is the Head of the Federal Government. There is a bicameral Parliament. Belgium is a member of the UN, NATO, OECD, EU, and the IMO. The capital is Brussels, and the principal languages are Dutch and French.

Belgium has a private enterprise economy, a highly developed transport network, and a diversified industrial and commercial base. It has few natural resources and therefore generally imports most raw materials. Exports include iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, and diamonds. Most of its trade is with other EU nations. The unit of currency is the Euro.

Ship registration in Belgium is governed by the Act of 21 December 1990 and the Royal Decree of 4 April 1996. By this legislation, Belgium finally abandoned the former strict link between shipowner’s nationality and vessel’s flag.

Belgian shipowners are free to register their vessels under a foreign flag and foreign shipping companies can operate their ships under Belgian flag provided that the vessels are operated from Belgium.