Republic of the Marshall Islands becomes No. 1 flag for world’s tanker fleet
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry hit a significant milestone by attaining the status as the world’s largest tanker fleet, RMI said in its press release.This status was achieved over the summer with additional tonnage joining the RMI Registry from markets in Greece, the United States (US), and Asia.
The RMI flagged tanker fleet stands at 44.6 million gross tons (GT). International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the RMI Maritime and Corporate Registries, is committed to the continued decentralization of services to better support the Registry’s owners and operators in every aspect of their business. This principle has led the RMI Registry to an average year - on - year growth of 15% since 2001.
Overall, the RMI Registry now stands at 137.3 million GT, with an average age of 8.7 years. The 3, 937 vessels flying the RMI flag are afforded the excellent safety record of the flag that has been on the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 program for 12 consecutive years and continues its status on the White Lists of the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding.
The RMI continues to be proactive at the International Maritime Organization (IMO ) and in September established a dedicated team of experts to guide shipowners through the complications of complying with the recently ratified Ballast Water Management Convention. The move follows Finland’s ratification of the Convention which means that more stringent ballast water management regulations will enter into force in September 2017. To comply, existing vessels will need to have installed a Convention Type Approved Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) by the first renewal of the vessel’s International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) Certificate.
The RMI Registry allows an early renewal of the IOPP Certificate before the entry into force of the Co nvention, which allows five years from the renewal date for BWMS installation. The RMI will be supporting proposals at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) October meeting for a delay of BWMS installation on some existing vessels.