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The Palau International Ship Registry has recently seen a strong increase in its fleet size. PISR says it is now one of the fastest growing ship registries.

The Palau registry attributes this development to the fact that more shipowners and operators look to become a part of »sma[ds_preview]rt registries«. A registry based on technology and detailed attention to service becomes more important to world shipping, the PISR says.

At the end of September 2017 the Palau flag fleet stands at 380 ships with 3,000,000 gt. The main Palau fleet now comprises 27 % general cargo and 20 % tankers, with the rest vessels accounting for 53 % of its total ships covering all vessel types and across a wide range of countries. There have been increases in the number of barges, tugs and bulk carriers looking to fly the Palau flag and more recently, a growing number of yacht owners talking to the registry looking to join the fleet.

In the Paris MOU flag state performance ranking for 2016, Palau was moved from the »Grey« to the »Black« list, based on the number of inspections and detentions.

»The time to embrace this technology is now«

Panos Kirnidis, CEO of Palau International Ship Registry believes the flag has become increasingly attractive to ship owners looking for stability, security, attention to detail and technological advances. »Since our inception in 2010 the registry has grown steadily with different types of ships joining our fleet. We have a strenuous vetting process for all our ships and we know that owners, charterers and operators want a quality flag. As a relatively new one we know that attracting ships into our fleet takes time and our clients need to be comfortable with us, our operations and our quality management approach. This recent increase in fleet size shows we are sailing the right way.«

»We have been saying for more than a year that the maritime industry knows that smart ships and smart technology is the way forward and yet there seems to be reluctance on the part of some owners to fully embrace technology. When the world economy turns and the shipping world recovers, progress in technology will be one of the real driving forces. The time to embrace this technology is now,« Kirnidis says.