The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) registry has gained further tonnage and now stands at 223,262,177 deadweight tons (DWT), making it No. 2 in the global market.
»This is a very significant milestone for the RMI Registry,« said President Bill Gallagher. He claimed »a str[ds_preview]ong legislative framework, customer driven service ethos, and a commitment to quality« as key elements of the growth. In the tanker segment, Marshall Islands is already No. 1 since October 2016.
He adds that RMI is the number one flag for Greek owners and saw »a new wave of Chinese leasing companies«. According to the statement, the registry has been gaining market share year-on-year and the flag today has 791 ships totaling 62,190,301 DWT (over 18.9% of total DWT of the Greek owned fleet) in its registry, making it the largest flag used by Greek controlled ships.
»We are delighted that our Greek owners and operators continue to hold the RMI Registry in such high regard which has been reflected in the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee‘s March 2017 Greek Controlled Shipping Report which shows the RMI as the number one choice of flag for Greek owners and operators,« Theo Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations and Managing Director of the Piraeus office continued.
One of the latest milestones was that the RMI Registry has received preliminary confirmation that it will continue its United States Coast Guard (USCG) Qualship 21 status for 2017. »This is the 13th year in a row that the RMI Registry has held its Qualship 21 status,« said Bill Gallagher. »It‘s significant because this achievement is no easy undertaking for a major registry, whose ships make thousands of US port calls, to maintain less than a 1% detention rate on a three-year rolling average basis,« he continued, saying the Qualship 21 designation means that ships flying the RMI flag »are less likely to be detained in US ports«.
