A year after operating in Manila, the Philippine office of International Registries, Inc. (IRI) bared plans not just to serve more Filipino seafarers, but also to eventually process the flag registration of local vessels.
IRI Manila country manager Leo Bolivar, in a recent media briefing, said his office now services more than 24 crewing agents, up from just 11 agents when it started operations last year.
The office, which processes seafarers’ documents for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) registry, can handle from 700 to 1,500 applications per week. Its capacity can be further expanded depending on the demand.
IRI provides administrative and technical support to the RMI Maritime and Corporate Registries. The Manila office, IRI’s 27th globally, coordinates with offices in Hong Kong and Mumbai to ensure the timely production of documentation in Asia.
The RMI registry, meanwhile, is the third largest registry in the world, surpassing 138 million gross tons and 3,956 vessels as of the end of October 2016.
The Manila office of IRI does not do direct transactions with seafarers and instead deals with crewing agents or accredited third party agents on the seamen’s behalf, Bolivar said.
In this way, seafarers save on courier and shipping costs because they can already submit their application in the Philippines. They also do not need to queue in line since it is the crewing agents that submit their application to IRI Manila for them.
If there’s demand, IRI Manila said it can also process the applications of local shipping operators for Marshall Islands flag registry and the applications of offshore companies for corporate registry. Asked what the advantages of registering with the Marshall Islands flag are, Bolivar cited savings on taxes and “company credibility,” as the Marshall Islands registry is accepted worldwide.
Meanwhile, IRI Maritime Operations senior vice president Capt. Robert Fay said they see career growth for Filipino seafarers, particularly in higher level positions such as senior license first engineers and chief engineers due to improved training. While China has overtaken the Philippines as the top producer of seafarers, the bulk of seamen on Marshall Islands-registered ships are still Filipinos, he said.
On how IRI is affected by the trend toward ship mergers and bigger vessels, Fay said it depends on the routes, as there are still a lot of small and medium-sized vessels on short-haul routes that it can continue to serve.
Moreover, while the number of vessels in some industries has declined, there has been a rise in the volume of vessels in other industries, such as the oil industry, and in specialty vessels that carry windmills.
Image courtesy of furuoda at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
