[EEGator]

It is a big deal.
Not paying US taxes but getting US naval protection in theft.

[sphinx]

I’ve never been expert in the area and am pretty rusty on the details that I’ve bumped into over the years ... but I have the notion that the issue is not U.S. taxes. The issue goes back to the Jones Act and has expanded over the years to include U.S. labor law and the regulatory and litigation climate.

We do a lot of things apart from taxes to drive industries offshore.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Not paying US taxes but getting US naval protection is theft TREATY. Now whether our "Compact of Free Association" with Republic of Palau, in this case, or with Micronesia or with the Marshall Islands in many other cases of non-US flagged ships, represents a good deal for us, a good treaty for us, or not, may be debatable; but it is part of an official US deal, not a steal. Now for some flags of convenience, your case may be correct.