The sea is not 'owned' by any country and changing the existing regulations that work (for some form of 'work', but one that is stable in a large context) with something else that works better is an iterative process with a very long iteration time.
But all the ports are. Come up with rules, and just dont let ships dock if the owners of the ship dont follow the rules
Doesnt seem that tricky.
Do remember that the bigger problem here wasn't a sea-unworthy ship that had to be impounded, but the fact the explosives were not safely stored or disposed of. That's not directly the fault of the ship's owner.
Or is sold to the highest bidder like like any other 'proceeds of crime' government auction.
I think that's precisely why the substance was there in Beirut anyway - it HAD been confiscated.
"No invasion or bombing of any country is going to affect the facilitation of terrorist funding anywhere near the action of restricting trade for companies that have these byzantine ownership structures that shield the actual owners and profiteers from identification"
Jo: Question 1: Can I trace ownership of the ship and the goods it's transporting?
Dwight: It's complicated
Jo: Yeah, but you see... it's not.