Reston: In the 15 years International Registries, Inc has been administering the Marshall Islands flag, the register has become a truly global organisation, something its president is keen to trumpet.
“While many registries claim to be decentralised, we genuinely are with people around the world who are decision makers and have the same authority as others in the US,” says Bill Gallagher. Shipowners can get their ships registered in their own timezone in other words.
The global network now spans 26 offices. Two thirds of all documentation is now done outside of the US and just 140 of the 350 staff working for IRI are in the US. IRI is now considering a documentation office in the Philippines.
Growth at the flag has been phenomenal, powering its way to third in the table of world registries with Panama and Liberia now in its sights.
Last year IRI celebrated passing the 100m gt mark and by the end of this year it should have hit 130m gt. Greece, the US, Norway and Korea are the top four countries for IRI-flagged ships.
These are good news for the maritime community as it demonstrates the professional ways for Register’s growth. One could expect many positive comments on this article coming from Shipowners of IRI-flagged vessels.