30 vessels owned and operated by Star Bulk Carriers have been awarded Qualship 21
30 vessels owned and operated by Star Bulk Carriers have been awarded Qualship 21. Photo: Thomas Wägener
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The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry has announced that Star Bulk Carriers (Star Bulk) got the award Qualship 21 by the United States (US) Coast Guard (USCG) for 30 of its bulk carriers.

The Qualship 21 program provides positive rewards to high quality ships and ca[ds_preview]n only be awarded to vessels sailing under a qualifying flag. According to RMI the registry is one of only a handful of ship registries to have less than a 1.0 % three-year detention ratio in the US and it is the only large commercial flag to maintain Qualship 21 status through 2016. There were 13 flag administrations that lost Qualship 21 eligibility in 2016 due to their three-year detention ratio exceeding 1.0 %.

Star Bulk‘s vessels have been flagged in the RMI since 2007. International Registries and its affiliates (IRI) provide administrative and technical support to the RMI Maritime and Corporate Registries and have been actively engaged with Star Bulk through its Piraeus office.

»Being awarded Qualship 21 status is good news not only for us, but for our charterers as well,« said Nicos Rescos, Chief Operating Officer of Star Bulk. »Our ships have been recognized as well-run and rewarded with limited port State control inspections in the US during their Qualship 21 certification period; fewer inspections means a lower likelihood of unnecessary delays and we‘re grateful to the IRI team for all their assistance in the process,« he concluded.

According to own information RMI Registry has been on the USCG‘s Qualship 21 program for twelve consecutive years and continues to maintain its status on the White Lists of the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding.