UK charity International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) has warned non-paying shipowners that they are jeopardising safe passage in the Middle East as its infrastructure ages.
The nonprofit organisation has been ensuring vessel safety in the region since 1911, as the coastal states there have still to take on ownership of assets in these international waters.
Chief executive Peter Stanley, a former BP executive appointed last year, told TradeWinds that it ploughs all its income from owners' navigational dues back into operations, but is facing a big bill to upgrade equipment.