This article is a primer on the role flag states play in overlooking compliance of international obligations for ships registered in their registry. Examining the various international legal instruments that obligates states, the nature of the obligations, the remedies for non-compliance, this article elaborates on the problem with flags of convenience in this domain. The nature of obligations being so for the flag states, this article stresses upon the importance of curbing the methods of non-compliance with an evaluation of the measures underway by the international community. This article also suggests few methods to tackle the menace of flags of convenience, especially when they represent the majority of the shipping industry.