Liberian Registry: A Recognition of Longevity, Credibility, and Contribution
April 2024 – Dr. Michalis Pantazopoulos,
Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry’s (LISCR) Piraeus office,
managers of the Liberian Registry
The Liberian fleet evolution within Greek shipping is testament to the strong links which have existed between Greek shipping and the Liberian flag, dating back to the day in 1949 when the Stavros Niarchos-owned oil tanker World Peace became the first ship to be registered under the Liberian flag. From that time, until the present day, the Greek shipping community has supported the Liberian Registry, and vice-versa, through good times and challenging times. This relationship has grown stronger still during the economic downturns, the geopolitical unrests and tensions, and the pandemic challenges of recent years, during which shipowners and operators have looked to their ship registries for innovative solutions to help maintain safety, efficiency and profitability.
As Greece remains the undisputed number one shipping nation in the world, Liberia remains the number one flag of choice for Greek shipowners, having contribute to the quality growth of Greek shipping, which is testament to the trust and respect that exists between the Greek shipowners and the Registry.
Today the Liberian Registry, with 5,974 ships, has a total tonnage of 264 million GTONS (average age 13 years), representing 14% of world shipping. Greek shipowners have honored us with 1,652 of their ships (149 million DWT) making the register the first choice in Greek shipping, that is about 25% of our total fleet.
Technology Driven Flag Services
The Liberian Registry was the first flag State to introduce electronic certificates over more than a decade ago and we also operate a dynamic ship detention prevention program, and recently introduced an online Duty Officer video call system to provide 24/7 instant support to Liberia flag ships in service. Liberia has also approved electronic record books for installation onboard Liberian registered ships, has authorized IHM Expert Companies to work with shipowners in maintaining and updating the inventory of hazardous materials (IHM) Part I onboard ships, and has developed an API (Application Program Interface) that allows electronic transfer of fuel oil consumption and carbon intensity indicator data. In addition to the electronic certificates, services and digitization, our online client-interface system, WayPoint, offers shipowners secure, real-time, user-friendly access to their fleet details anytime and anywhere in the world. WayPoint is a centralized, single database compiling all information relating to the performance and registration of Liberian vessels.
The Greek controlled Liberian fleet over the last 20 years has evolved as follows:
2005 160 vessels
2008 480 vessels
2011 600 vessels
2014 750 vessels
2017 1.050 vessels
4/2024 1,652 vessels
The Liberian Registry is the largest White Listed ship registry, achieving this success on all MOUs, Paris, Tokyo and USCG Qualship 21. The safety of the ships, seafarers, and environment are our number one priority. The registry has invested a great deal into the expansion of its network of inspectors, auditors, and global staff providing technical and safety related support to the Liberian fleet. Our incentives have been recognized by the Greek shipping industry making the Liberian Flag the preferred flag of Greek shipowners as the recent data from the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee of London (March 2024).
Our Commitment to Greek Shipping – The Greek Office – 2 Efplias Str., Piraeus
The LISCR Piraeus office was established in 2000 at Efplias 2 in the heart of the port and is one of the Registry’s longest-established office with dedicated and highly professional staff available to assist the shipmanagers and the vessels whenever is needed. The Greek shipping community appreciates the broad spectrum of quality services and support offered locally including corporate, vessel registration and mortgage, plan approvals, seafarers’ certification, and technical, safety, ballast and security services and certification. Our motto “All Services Locally” has received acceptance, recognition, and appreciation by the Greek shipping community, as there is there is not any flag state that have the capability to offer all these services locally in Piraeus or elsewhere.
Our approach to Greek shipping is simple based on hard work, consistency, responsibility, credibility, immediate response and service, any day and hour as shipping works around the clock. Our aim is to find solutions, to support the vessel and the operator.
A Shipping Partnership – Our Commitment
Shipping is an industry of partnership and not a one-way street, and we are committed 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. Liberia is committed on a continuous improvement 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.
As the Liberian Registry celebrates 75 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, and continue stronger today.
