The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has been included on the list of flag States which meet the criteria for Low Risk Ships (LRS) published by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under its New Inspection Regime (NIR). Inclusion on this list requires that a flag State be on the Paris MoU white list and also that it has satisfactorily completed the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS).
“We see inclusion on the port State control white lists of the Paris and Tokyo MoUs, United States Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 list and now the Paris MoU’s LRS list as a testament to the hard work of the Registry, its owners and operators and our dedication to maintaining a safe, secure and environmentally compliant fleet, which is our highest priority. It is notable that the RMI along with France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are the only flag States to be on all four quality lists,” stated Bill Gallagher, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs of the RMI.
“It is interesting that one of the criteria for inclusion on the LRS list is satisfactory completion of the VIMSAS. In 2004, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Marshall Islands were the first Member States to undergo the trial audit which led to the development of the VIMSAS, continued Bill Gallagher. At that point in time, the Marshall Islands Registry had a fleet of 21 million gross tons and was the world’s ninth largest registry. Today the Registry stands at 64.8 million gross tons and is the world’s third largest registry. “The RMI continues to support efforts to improve the quality of the global fleet through VIMSAS, the efforts of all port State control authorities and other industry stakeholders,” concluded Bill Gallagher.
The NIR marks a change in the way that vessels are targeted by Paris MoU member port States for inspection. Replacing its previous target of “inspecting 25% of individual ships calling at each member State, the new regime calls for a shared commitment for full coverage of inspecting all ships visiting ports and anchorages in the Paris MoU region as a whole,” as noted in the Paris MoUs explanatory NIR text. The previous target factor is replaced by the Ship Risk Profile, which classifies ships into LRS and High Risk Ships. If a ship is neither Low Risk nor High Risk, it is classified as Standard Risk Ship. Vessels flagged with the RMI will have a lower probability of port State control inspections given the Registry’s LRS status and the time window that is set according to the Ship Risk Profile which is inclusive of other factors.
International Registries, Inc. (IRI) and its affiliates, with more than 60 years of experience, are the Maritime and Corporate Administrators of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. IRI currently has a network of offices in Baltimore, Dalian, Dubai, Ft. Lauderdale, Geneva, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, London, Mumbai, New York, Piraeus, Roosendaal, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington, DC/Reston and Zurich, that have the ability to register a vessel or yacht, record a mortgage, incorporate a company and service clientele. In order to meet higher expectations, IRI has expanded its worldwide coverage to include representation in Chile, Limassol, Oslo, Port Said and Taipei.
IRI concentrates solely on administering the Marshall Islands flag and provides a broad spectrum of registry related services for the shipping and financial services industries. With maritime safety and environmental stewardship as its highest priorities, the Marshall Islands Registry is proud to be listed on the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 roster and on the white list of major international MoUs. The Marshall Islands also received high marks on the recently published 2010 Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table.
“We see inclusion on the port State control white lists of the Paris and Tokyo MoUs, United States Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 list and now the Paris MoU’s LRS list as a testament to the hard work of the Registry, its owners and operators and our dedication to maintaining a safe, secure and environmentally compliant fleet, which is our highest priority. It is notable that the RMI along with France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are the only flag States to be on all four quality lists,” stated Bill Gallagher, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs of the RMI.
“It is interesting that one of the criteria for inclusion on the LRS list is satisfactory completion of the VIMSAS. In 2004, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Marshall Islands were the first Member States to undergo the trial audit which led to the development of the VIMSAS, continued Bill Gallagher. At that point in time, the Marshall Islands Registry had a fleet of 21 million gross tons and was the world’s ninth largest registry. Today the Registry stands at 64.8 million gross tons and is the world’s third largest registry. “The RMI continues to support efforts to improve the quality of the global fleet through VIMSAS, the efforts of all port State control authorities and other industry stakeholders,” concluded Bill Gallagher.
The NIR marks a change in the way that vessels are targeted by Paris MoU member port States for inspection. Replacing its previous target of “inspecting 25% of individual ships calling at each member State, the new regime calls for a shared commitment for full coverage of inspecting all ships visiting ports and anchorages in the Paris MoU region as a whole,” as noted in the Paris MoUs explanatory NIR text. The previous target factor is replaced by the Ship Risk Profile, which classifies ships into LRS and High Risk Ships. If a ship is neither Low Risk nor High Risk, it is classified as Standard Risk Ship. Vessels flagged with the RMI will have a lower probability of port State control inspections given the Registry’s LRS status and the time window that is set according to the Ship Risk Profile which is inclusive of other factors.
International Registries, Inc. (IRI) and its affiliates, with more than 60 years of experience, are the Maritime and Corporate Administrators of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. IRI currently has a network of offices in Baltimore, Dalian, Dubai, Ft. Lauderdale, Geneva, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, London, Mumbai, New York, Piraeus, Roosendaal, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington, DC/Reston and Zurich, that have the ability to register a vessel or yacht, record a mortgage, incorporate a company and service clientele. In order to meet higher expectations, IRI has expanded its worldwide coverage to include representation in Chile, Limassol, Oslo, Port Said and Taipei.
IRI concentrates solely on administering the Marshall Islands flag and provides a broad spectrum of registry related services for the shipping and financial services industries. With maritime safety and environmental stewardship as its highest priorities, the Marshall Islands Registry is proud to be listed on the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 roster and on the white list of major international MoUs. The Marshall Islands also received high marks on the recently published 2010 Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table.