Today the Liberian Registry, with 5,062 ships, has a total tonnage of 215 million GTONS (average age 12 years), representing 14% of world shipping.
Greek shipowners have honored us with 1,436 of their ships (127 million DWT) making the register the first choice in Greek shipping, that is about 25% of our total fleet.
2021 has been a milestone year for the Liberian Registry, which surpassed the historic 200 Million GT mark. This overall fleet growth has largely been due to an increase in newbuilding orders recently delivered, especially with larger modern dual-fuel vessels, oil tankers, LNG carriers, and Mega Containerships.
Furthermore, the Liberian Registry became the world’s largest tanker flag in October 2021. With the recent addition of 2.7 Million GT of new tankers, the Liberian tanker fleet now stands at 57.4 Million Gross Tons (GT) per Clarkson’s, making Liberia the world’s leading tanker flag in terms of Gross Tonnage. This is a great development for the Liberian Registry globally, and especially here in Greece where Liberia is the top flag for Greek shipowners, as the majority of this new tanker tonnage we have registered in Liberia is directly from Greek shipowners.
The Liberian Registry, has not only grown to be the world’s leading tanker flag, but has also maintained its position as the world’s leading containership flag with 18% of glob- al container vessel market share; and is the fastest-growing major registry in the world with a 6.6% growth rate year–to-date.
As the Liberian Registry celebrates 74
years of existence in the internationally competitive shipping industry where longevity is a badge of honor that is awarded only to businesses that are in it for the long haul and survive because of the quality services they provide, we feel honored to be part of the Greek Shipping community. For this our gratitude and commitment to the Greek shipping community is the ground we have been founded on since 1948.
The benefits are known for the last 74 years, mainly very prompt and quality services at competitive cost with value added services and products that in most cases pay-off the traditional annual fees that a flag will charge. But with Liberian Registry there are many more drivers that motivate a ship- manager to register his/her ship with us.
1) As the Liberian Registry strongly believes that it is the responsibility of the flag State to help owners increase the operational efficiency of their vessels by reducing daily administrative burdens, there has been an ongoing effort with significant investments in technology, so that Liberian-flagged ship- owners have access to industry-leading ser- vices and programs that benefit them, their ships, and their seafarers. The Flag’s role
is to ensure that ships and ship owners are complying with international regulation, but in a way that does not inhibit their ability to
service the needs of global transportation.
2) Liberia is a leading maritime nation with permanent representatives at the IMO providing a full-time voice on issues affecting maritime safety, security and environmental protection. Liberia is not only present at IMO and subcommittee meetings but is taking an active leadership role. Of the 174 member States of the IMO, Liberia is one of the handful in the room for many sub- committee meetings, which is where new regulations and standards are discussed. This means Liberian-flagged shipowners have access to the highest level of advice and assistance.
3) The Liberian Registry has also launched streamlined Ship Newbuild Services to Liberian-flagged shipowners through dedicated joint industry ship design projects. The intention is to produce quality, innovative ships capable of high-performance levels and outstanding Port State Control performance, in compliance with all rules and regulations.
The Registry’s unique and innovative services have saved shipowners and managers significant time and money within a flexible system which keeps Liberian-flag ships operating safely and efficiently. We firmly believe that all flags are not alike, and it is through these services and features that we prove that.
The recent extension of the Maritime Transportation agreement between China and Liberia that would among other benefits reduce the Chinese tonnage port dues by 28% for the Liberian flag vessels was driven by the urge, and the advocating desire of the Greek shipowners.
Regulations and technology are the two largest influencers of the maritime industry. Technology has been revolutionizing shipping since the steam engine; not only has it transformed the ships at sea, but the industry ashore. Liberia was the first Flag Administration to offer electronic certificates, electronic seafarer documentation systems, an online client portal for registry services, and electronic oil record books, to name a few.
Recent international regulations have made our industry safer, cleaner, and more globalized. Furthermore, these regulations have opened the door for innovative technologies by forcing the industry to reevaluate the ways in which we operate. Liberia has the unique position of being on the IMO Council which means we have a full- time voice at the IMO, contributing to the international regulations that affect the entire industry. In doing so, we constantly advocate for smart regulations that reflect the needs of the industry, with the interests of our shipowners in mind.
Challenges ahead of us
Flag states are not immune from the challenges that affect the entire industry. I think that so far in 2022 we have experienced so much of the unexpected and have had to adjust to this adversity along with the entire industry. This includes COVID-19, IMO regulations, commodity and stock volatility, supply / demand uncertainty, and some extremely high dry freight and container charter rates, as
well as the recent Russia-Ukraine military operations. These issues are likely to affect shipping over the next two years.
It should be noted that the recent geopolitical turmoil and the Russia-Ukraine issue have added new problems and risks, possible increases in premiums, fluctuations in raw material prices
and transportation costs, economic and other sanctions that may include ships, ports. of the Caspian Sea, but also the Ukrainian and Russian seafarers who are employed and those who are on board. This creates an environment with many unknown aspects and side effects that may affect global shipping in the long run.
We also believe that the older tonnage currently will not undergo installation of capital-intensive equipment to comply with regulations and most likely scrapping may increase. Consolidation in shipping in certain sectors is also likely to occur. Further on, the instability due to sanctions and geopolitical unarrest would have an effect that may go either way positive or negative as shipping industry prefers stability and organized operating environment. But no matter what, in Greece specifically, we will continue to see growth in the Greek- owned fleet, and their continued dominance in the global shipping scene.
Shipping is an industry of partnership and not a one-way street,
and we are committed to making sure to share with shipowners our experiences, our networks, our technology, and our global network to ensure their vessels get the support they need to operate in an ever changing and increasingly complicated regulatory environment. The aim for continuous improvement, innovation, technology utilization to improve existing system for ships to operate efficiently, safely and environmentally friendly is a continuous effort. Liberia is committed on this continuous effort moving towards systems, procedures and processes that will improve not only shipping but the community at large and this is a commitment more than ever now.
*Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry’s (LISCR) Piraeus office, managers of the Liberian Registry