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Nature 426, 485 (4 December 2003) | doi:10.1038/426485a

Ship row flags up funding of war in Africa

Rex Dalton

The flag that flutters atop the JOIDES Resolution, one of the world's premier scientific ships, does not represent any of the more than 20 nations that have funded her decades of journeys on the seven seas. Instead it is the banner of Liberia — a West African country that has diverted funds from its fat ship-registration coffers to fund arms purchases for civil wars.