A $24m tax lawsuit has shown for the first time how the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is bearing down like never before on foreign offshore shipowners working on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

The IRS taskforce on the matter has upped its game considerably. Agents are using vessel-monitoring and tracking systems, third-party industry databases like IHS Fairplay, as well as co-operation with watchdog entities like the US Department of Homeland Security.

Filings