US and other Nato countries should not bother with protecting merchant ships attacked in the Red sea. The shipping companies have to rely on the navies of their flag states for protection. The 10 largest flag states for shipping are:
Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malta, Bahamas, China, Greece, Japan
Hong Kong is now China. But there is still an independent shipping tax haven there. The shipping companies avoiding taxes in western countries does not deserve protection from the same countries.
They can get a return of the tax money by letting the mentionee countries send their navies. Greece is a NATO country, so NATO can participate to some degree with support to the flag state navies.
*Guess this was a popular opinion.
I’m pretty knowledgeable on how shipping works. If not I wouldn’t know shit about what a flag state is.
A company in country A flags their ship to a tax haven which is country B. They hire seafarers from country C to commit to the social dumping of poor people. Usually from the Philippines or India.
They transport goods between countries with to ties to A, B or C. Which is fine of course. That’s trade.
Owners in country A enrich themselves from tax evasion in B, and wage theft from C.
One of the largest cruise companies in Norway have their ships flagged to Swiss. The land locked shipping nation of the Alps.
This is an opportunity to bruteforce the shipping companies to bring their wealth home.