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. Through these discussions we have learned that Liberia has now joined Panama, Belize, and Honduras in the practice of adding a flag state surcharge to the class fees for such certificates.
"We affirm to our shipowners, shipoperators, and recognized organizations that the Republic of the Marshall Islands Registry has no intention of following suit.
"In the very competitive world of ship registration, the terminology 'free' is used loosely. We are determined to remain transparent. Owners can rest assured they will only be responsible for agreed and published fees with no back door or hidden surcharges."