The ACS purchased land in Africa, naming it "Liberia," which means "the land of ... they started fashioning things after the U.S., the flag, everything," Martin Coleman said.

That city is the capital of the West African nation of Liberia ... Yet a third of the world's shipping tonnage carries the Liberian flag, some 1,900 vessels; most of those ships, as well as ...

The Liberian flag now has a 2.2m gt lead over Panama at the top of the registry rankings, its fleet growing by 5.6% so far this year, according to Clarksons. In terms of the number of ships on ...