Marshall Islands to be World's 2nd Largest Flag State by 2010

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Marshall Islands guns for Liberia’s second spot flag status
26 October 2005
Lloyd's List

THE Marshall Islands will overtake Liberia to become the world’s second largest flag state by 2010, according to the head of International Registries, which administers the Marshall Islands flag, writes Keith Wallis in Hong Kong.

International Registries managing partner William Gallagher told Lloyd’s List: “I predict the Marshall Islands will overtake Liberia in three to five years. That’s being conservative and realistic.”

He was speaking in Hong Kong during a stop-over to formally open a new International Registries office in Dalian, the northern Chinese port city today.

“I see us well into the 40s [million gross tonnes] and pushing the 50s [m gt] in three years. It’s extremely realistic,” Mr Gallagher said.

The Marshall Islands flag passed the 30m gt mark earlier this month and now stands at about 1,050 ships with a total tonnage of between 30m gt-31m gt. Mr Gallagher said that in tonnage terms, the Marshall Islands flag has been growing at the rate of about 30% a year for the past three years.

He said it now ranks fifth behind Panama, Liberia, Bahamas and Greece after overtaking Hong Kong earlier this year. Hong Kong currently has a registered tonnage of 29.61m gt with a total of 1,079 ships on the register.

“We will shortly surpass the Bahamas,” Mr Gallagher predicted.

He thought growth would come from Asian owners, particularly in Singapore and Japan, where the company has spent considerable effort promoting the Marshall Islands flag.

He believed the expansion of the flag reflected the effort International Registries had put into developing a well-respected operation rather than trying to be the biggest register.

“We differentiate ourselves from other registries by offering better services and support,” Mr Gallagher added.

An advisory board, which includes shipowners and class societies, has been formed to suggest improvements and provide feedback on the services provided by the flag state.

International Registries’ network of global offices also offers shipowners a one-stop shop to register their ships, record mortgages and create corporations.

Mr Gallagher said the Dalian office will serve northern China including shipowners with newbuildings, especially tankers, at the Dalian and nearby yards.

It is likely to be the last set up by International Registries for some time because for the moment, Mr Gallagher believes, the Korean and Taiwan markets can be served by the Tokyo and Hong Kong offices.

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Marshall Islands Registry surges by 1.4mn gross tons in April


Jul/Aug 2005

The Marshall Islands Maritime Registry attracted a record 1.4mn gross tons during April, the best month in the history of the Registry. This took the total gross tonnage to more than 26.5mn and expanded the fleet to 897 vessels.

Since April 30, 2004 the Marshall Islands Registry has grown by more than five million gross tons totalling 213 ships. Forecasts are for the Registry to reach 30mn gross tons in early 2006 totalling 1000 vessels. The Registry comprises a range of vessels including, but not limited to, bulk carriers, container ships, mobile offshore units, tankers, passenger ships and LNG carriers.

International Registries, Inc. (IRI), the Maritime and Corporate Administrator of the Marshall Islands, has been at the forefront of building a quality registry with a strong focus on safety and security. Recently, the Registry was recognized by P.D. Thorne, Commander, US Coast Guard, who stated, "your commitment to quality shipping was evident as your registry's vessels calling on US ports compiled a superior 2004 Port State Control record, including over 270 distinct arrivals without a single safety or environmental IMO detention."

The Registry's continual commitment in infrastructure, resources and timely service to shipowners and operators has enabled them to ensure the Marshall Islands' fleet is compliant with international regulations and conventions, which has been a key to this exceptional growth.

"IRI has expanded its network of offices to many of the world's maritime and commercial centers so that the Registry can be more responsive to customers' needs. As a global company it means that IRI can offer services 24 hours a day, covering all time zones," said Bill Gallagher, President of International Registries, Inc.

"The Registry's exceptional growth in April is not only the result of newbuilding registrations and reflaggings to the Marshall Islands, but also a continual commitment to providing the best service to current and potential owners/operators through a network of worldwide offices and professionals from the maritime, banking and legal sectors. It is interesting to note that the Registry has a good geographical spread in that the owners are from the US, Europe and Asia," added Gallagher.

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Marshall Islands flag keeps lead over Hong Kong
By Keith Wallis in Hong Kong
6 January 2006
Lloyd's List

THE Marshall Islands flag continued to outpace close rival Hong Kong last year, ending December with 1,102 registered ships with a total tonnage of more than 31.18m gt.

In comparison, the Hong Kong flag yesterday stood at 1,088 ships with a total of 29.9m gt.

International Registries, which administers the Marshall Islands flag, declined to forecast growth levels this year.

But International Registries (Far East) managing director Annie Ng was confident that newbuilding deliveries from Japanese, Korean and Chinese yards would maintain the momentum of growth seen in the past few years.

Earlier, International Registries managing partner William Gallagher said that in tonnage terms the MarshallIslands flag had been growing at a rate of 30%a year for the past three years.

He was confident the Marshalls would overtake Liberia as the world’s second largest flag state by 2010.

“I see us well into the 40s [million gross tonnes] and pushing the 50s in three years. It is extremely realistic,” Mr Gallagher said.

The firm plans to strengthen its links with Chinese, Korean and Japanese yards following the appointment of Captain Greg Copley, a former master and superintendent who worked for the Blue Star Line, as technical marine manager.

Capt Copley is also deputy commissioner of the Marshall Islands.

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Marshall Islands register gets 2m gt boost
13 July 2006
Lloyd's List

THE Marshall Islands registry has added 2m gross tonnes in the past six months to take total tonnage on the register to 33.49m gt, writes Keith Wallis in Hong Kong.

According to the latest report International Registries, which administers the Majuro-based registry, said the total number of vessels flying the Marshall Islands flag rose to 1,245 in June compared with 1,123 in January.

By comparison, the Marshall Islands’ closest rival, Hong Kong, has grown little this year. The Hong Kong register crossed the 30m gt milestone on January 8. Yesterday, the number of ships flying Hong Kong’s Bauhinia flag was 1,108 with a combined tonnage of 30.84m gt, according to Marine Department figures.

On an annual basis the Marshall Islands registry has grown from 972 vessels totalling 28.51m gt in June 2005 to 1,245 ships last month, with a total tonnage of 33.49m gt.

But the level of growth in the last six months is down from the comparable period last year when the registry added vessels with a total tonnage of 3.93m gt.

Ranking fifth behind Panama, Liberia, Bahamas and Greece, the register is aiming to take the number two spot by 2010.

On Tuesday, International Registries confirmed Mitsui OSK Line had become the first major Japanese owner to register a vessel in the Marshall Islands after flagging the 48,635 dwt product tanker newbuilding Opal Express.

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Localisation key to Marshall Islands success
8 May 2009
Lloyd's List

YOUNG-MIN Kim is the face of the Marshall Islands Register in South Korea: a happy face, it should be noted.

His story is that of the basic good sense in localising a global business and the success that arises out of such a policy. Before Capt Kim took on the role of representative for the Marshall Islands flag in 2007, a senior executive from the register made an annual visit to the nation’s shipowners from Seoul to Pusan. Knocking on doors, pressing the flesh and perhaps sharing a glass of sojou or two, each year he would leave empty-handed.

Shipowners are known as a conservative bunch the world over but perhaps in Japan and Korea the trait is particularly pronounced. Familiarity is definitely a comfort.

As an ex-sea captain and a member of a the alumini of one of South Korea’s illustrious maritime universities, Capt Kim counts some of the nation’s biggest shipping players among the friends of his youth.

Even as we discuss the progress the Marshall Islands is now making in South Korea, T H Lee, Hanjin Shipping’s former regional director for Europe, strolls over to greet him like a long-lost friend. Such closeness to the community he serves has seen Capt Kim pick up 750,000 gt since he started. Another 10 ships are expected to join the register this year. Quality owners such as STX Pan Ocean and Korea Line are behind the move to the Marshall Islands.

Capt Kim explains: “Korean shipowners have traditionally tied the Panamanian flag to their mast — primarily for tax purposes.

“But tax is no longer the only consideration. We have received an enthusiastic response to the ease of registration.”

Capt Kim said that subsequent to registration, owners on the new flag are impressed by the real time technical support that comes from a register with 19 offices around the world. In the case of South Korea, owners can get help 24/7 from the Asian headquarters in Hong Kong. A localisation policy goes on and on paying dividends.

After Capt Kim signed up in 2007, he soon introduced a fellow Japanese mariner to the register who has gone on to repeat Capt Kim’s success by taking the Marshall Islands’ presence in Japan from zero to 1m gt in 2008, with a further 1.5m gt expected this year.

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Marshall Islands seeks more involvement in IMO council
27 November 2009
Tradewinds

The fast-growing Marshall Islands ship register is making a bid to join the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) council to have more say in the organisation's administration.

The Marshall Islands is now ranked as one of the world's largest ship registers with a fleet that has more than doubled in size in the past three years from 18.5 million gt to 50 million gt.

Despite its size, the register, managed by International Registries Incorporated (IRI), has never had a say in the IMO's administrating council.

IRI president Bill Gallagher said: "This is part of an evolutionary process for a fast-growing register like ourselves. We have been doing our duty at the IMO not only in monetary terms but also in contributing to discussions. The Marshall Islands can bring a lot to the table at the IMO and we would take things to another level in terms of our participation."

Recently, the Marshall Islands has taken a role in developing new rules for the carriage of dangerous dry cargoes and also participated in the greenhouse-gas discussions and initiatives to improve standards among recognised organisations. It made its mark at the IMO by being one of the first to go through the member-state auditing scheme and has been active in trying to develop the programme to improve standards among ship registers.

Budgetary and administration issues at the London-based organisation are just two areas in which the Marshall Islands would like to have more say. The IMO council has three bands of membership - A,B and C - and the Marshall Islands is seeking election to band C.

Managing director John Ramage says the Marshall Islands believes in being an active member of the IMO. He said: "The duty of the flag state at the IMO is more than just participating in the committees and signing conventions. Flag states should have a proactive, permanent delegation, obtaining feedback from the industry on upcoming regulations, which can, if appropriate, be used to modify the convention under discussion."