Bold Ocean, through its operating companies, is a truly United States Flag maritime company – meaning we are neither owned nor controlled by a foreign-based company. In the language of the maritime laws of the United States, we are a ‘citizen company.’ We take this status very seriously and are proud to fly the American flag on our ships.
Bold Ocean is committed to servicing complex shipping needs for customers around the world, and our family of companies are the best in the industry.
Being a U.S. Flag carrier means we have highly trained mariners, safe vessels, stringent environmental standards, advanced technology, responsible corporate business practices, and fair labor-management relations. It also means we must comply with one of the world’s most comprehensive – and expensive – vessel inspection and corporate regulatory systems.
Most importantly, flying the American flag on our ships means we are a critical element of the national and economic security as well as the foreign policy of the United States. Our ships, our mariners, and Bold Ocean’s land-based operations are essential to the safety and security of all Americans. Since 1904, U.S. law requires the Department of Defense to rely in large part on US Flag vessels for virtually all of its sealift needs – in times of peace, crisis, and war. And U.S. citizens can count on Bold Ocean to be there whenever our ships are called on to carry needed cargo in support of U.S. national interests.
“[We] must be mindful that the execution of our national military strategy requires a robust U.S.-flag merchant marine, a strong surge sealift capability, and a deep pool of merchant mariners to literally carry our nation to war. . . Contracting out our ability to carry our nation’s combat power with foreign flag fleets is simply not an option. So let us all put our oar in the water, and pull together to sustain a viable U.S.-flag merchant marine.”
- Rear Admiral Thomas ShannonU.S. Navy Military Sealift Command (2016)
