Bill Gallagher News

Captain David J.F. Bruce, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and Senior Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, RMI Maritime Administrator passed away on Friday, 29 September 2023. He was a loving husband to Alison for 53 years, father to Gwendoline, and grandfather to Alison and Alexander. Captain Bruce had a storied career and connection with the sea, first going to work at sea in 1957 after his studies at Melville College in Edinburgh…

Expanding to strengthen support in Asia, International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) opened offices in Vancouver, British Columbia and Qingdao, China today. This is the first Canadian office of IRI and the 11th office in Asia. The opening of the Vancouver office expands on the historical and powerful link between Vancouver and China, while Qingdao opens to facilitate inspections and client services in Northern China. Both offices will serve Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) corporate and maritime clients. Annie Ng, Head of Asia and Managing Director, Vancouver Office will remain Head of Asia and reposition to lead from Vancouver.“Vancouver is an important cultural and trading link between North America and Asia…

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has been recognized on the United States Coast Guard's (USCG's) QUALSHIP 21 roster for 2019-2020. The USCG program rewards vessels for commitment to safety and quality when calling at ports in the United States (US).Only flag States which maintain a port State control (PSC) detention ratio of 1.00% or less over a three-year period and also meet a stringent set of judgement criteria are eligible for the program.A vessel registered in a flag State with QUALSHIP 21 certification may apply to be certified for QUALSHIP 21 by completing an application found on the USCG website. The RMI is the only leading registry to have maintained this position for 15 consecutive years…

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) announced that the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry will not levy surcharges and commissions on vessel documents and certificates issued on its behalf by the classification societies."The RMI Registry will continue to provide its clients with a transparent pricing structure for the issuance of key certificates needed by shipowners," it said in a statement.Bill Gallagher, President of IRI, which provides administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry, said, "Over the past days, we have had discussions with several of the major classification societies concerning flag state surcharges on the issuance of class documents and statutory certificates.

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) has announced that the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry will not follow competitors by levying surcharges and commissions on vessel documents and certificates issued on its behalf by the Classification Societies.The RMI Registry will continue to provide its clients with a transparent pricing structure for the issuance of key certificates needed by shipowners.Bill Gallagher, President of IRI, which provides administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry, said: "Over the past days, we have had discussions with several of the major Classification Societies (Class) concerning flag State surcharges on the issuance of Class documents and statutory certificates.

International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime and Corporate Registries, has appointed a new Technical Officer in its Imabari office, strengthening its support and services for the Japanese ship owning market. “We now have more than 400 employees in our 27 offices worldwide and by hiring an extremely experienced technical officer in Imabari, who understands every aspect of vessel safety and day-to-day operations, we are upgrading our service commitment to our growing number of Japanese owners and operators,” said Bill Gallagher, President, IRI.

Leveraging 27 worldwide offices, the RMI Registry has been gaining market share year-on-year. Surging tonnage and a solid record for safety has pushed the registry to the head of the class. When the Marshall Islands Registry announced that it had become the world’s second largest – at a whopping 223,262,177 deadweight tons – the registry’s leadership was quick to emphasize quality as the leading reason. International Registries (IRI) President Bill Gallagher didn’t discount the importance of the deadweight milestone, but quickly moved the conversation towards why it had happened. With as many as 450 worldwide employees – the vast majority of them full time employees – IRI has done just that.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) fleet now stands at 223,262,177 deadweight tons (DWT), making it the second largest registry in the world in terms of DWT. International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) have provided administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry since 1990. "This is a very significant milestone for the RMI Registry," said Bill Gallagher, President, IRI. "A strong legislative framework, customer driven service ethos, and a commitment to quality have all been key to our continued success," he continued. The RMI is not only the world's second largest registry, but the Greek shipping industry's leading flag as well.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded Qualship 21 status to 30 bulk carriers owned and operated by Star Bulk Carriers Corp., the largest U.S. listed dry bulk operator. The Qualship 21 program rewards high quality ships sailing under qualifying flags. In a letter to Star Bulk, Rear Admiral Paul Thomas of the USCG stated, “Less than 10 percent of all [non-U.S. flagged] ships that operate in the [U.S.] meet the eligibility requirements of this program, putting [Star Bulk's] qualified vessels in an elite class.

Bill Gallagher, President, International Registries, Inc.(IRI)  shares his thoughts on the continuing growth of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry, the challenges of ballast water management regulations and the importance of Qualship 21. Ballast Water Management (BWM) is on everyone’s minds at the moment. Listening to the questions posed by industry stakeholders at our seminar on BWM regulations in London this November, it was clear to me that the industry needs practical answers, fast. To ensure owners’ collective BWM concerns are dealt with and clearly heard at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), we have a dedicated BWM team…

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry has attained status as the world's largest tanker fleet following the addition of tonnage from markets in Greece, the U.S. and Asia over the summer. 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.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) received preliminary information regarding the United States Coast Guard’s (USCG’s) Qualship 21 list during Intertanko’s North American Panel meeting. The meeting, which took place on day one of the Connecticut Maritime Association’s (CMA’s) Shipping 2016 conference, was the largest attended North American Panel meeting to date. Rear Admiral Paul Thomas, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, USCG presented the preliminary results showing the RMI on the Qualship 21 list for 2016. While these results are preliminary, the final results will be presented in the USCG’s 2016 Annual Report scheduled to be released in early summer. There were 26 eligible flag States in 2015 of which 13 fell off the 2016. Qualship 21 preliminary list.

"The Republic of the Marshall Islands acknowledges the Commandant's conclusions. The United States Coast Guard's report, with final Commandant action, reinforces many of the findings contained in the flag State’s report released previously," said Bill Gallagher, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs. "The Marshall Islands looks forward to working closely with the United States and other member States at the International Maritime Organization to implement the lessons that can be learned from this casualty and improve maritime safety going forward," he concluded.

The Marshall Islands register has introduced a new pricing scheme to increase its competitiveness in big ships types such as Capesizes and VLCCs. The scheme came into effect on September 1, 2002. "We reduced annual tonnage tax three years ago from .25 a gross ton to .20 a net ton, and now we have launched an alternative scheme that is more favourable for the big ships", said Bill Gallagher, president of International Registries, Inc., which runs the register. He said the register would reach 15 million gross tons and 500 vessels by the end of 2001, and 20 million tons gross by 2004. He said electronic recording of mortgages, the absence of hidden costs like consular fees and low cost seafarers documentation were aiding the rapid growth. "The register is dominant in the U.S.

The Marshall Islands register announced that its fleet has grown 29 percent in tonnage terms, or 4 million gross tons (gt), over the past 12 months in a mid-year report released. At the mid-year point of June 30, 2003, there are 569 ships totalling 17.69 million gt flying the Marshall Islands flag, in contrast to the 429 ships of 13.69 million gt on the register on June 30, 2002. The Marshall Islands flag has been one of the fastest growing registries in the world in recent years, and the latest figures show that this trend is continuing. In April 2003, for example, almost 1 million gt of new ships was registered with the Marshall Islands, just short of a record monthly total for the flag.