> > I am also confused by the fact that a Dutch company includes the word "America" in it's name, has a ship built in Italy, registers said ship in the Bahamas, staffs it with Indonesian and Filapino people and then sails it to Mexico and assorted island nations.
> >
> > The "America" part probably refers to *the actual Americas*, as in the continents in the Western Hemishpere of the world. I'm not even going to try to speculate the explanation of the other ones.
>
> My guess is that they built the ship in Italy because the lowest bidder was based there.
>
> The ships are registered in the Bahamas for tax-avoidance purposes.
>
> 'tienne

Everything comes down to money, doesn't it.
They can probably hire Indonesian and Filipino crewmen cheaper, too.
Howard