At the start of this century Bill Gallagher (pictured) and Clay Maitland, via their firm International Registries, Inc (IRI), parted ways with the Liberian registry and sought a similar US-friendly territory from which to base a new shipping flag. They chose the Marshall Islands, a country in the Central Pacific with just 54,000 citizens spread across 29 coral atolls. The flag, the RMI Registry, then set about building up a global network of offices and enticing owners from across the world.
As of March this year IRI can now boast a flag larger than Liberia’s, placing it second in the world behind Panama.
The flag today stands at 223.26m dwt, just over 2m dwt in front of rival Liberia. Panama is out in front with 340.14m dwt.
“This is a very significant milestone for the RMI Registry,” said Bill Gallagher, president of IRI.
“From long-standing traditional shipowners, particularly our standing as the number one flag for Greek owners, to a new wave of Chinese leasing companies, the RMI Registry is the registry of choice for owners looking for an innovative and quality driven partner,” he added.
In another late breaking development, the RMI Registry has received preliminary confirmation that it will continue its United States (US) Coast Guard (USCG) Qualship 21 status for 2017.
